Stoke Space raised its total capital to 2.3 billion dollars in a Series E funding round co-led by Point72 Ventures and Spark Capital. The fact that the company has not yet completed an orbital flight makes the amount particularly notable. The funding will accelerate development of the larger “Block 2” version of the Nova rocket. Stoke CEO Andy Lapsa said the vehicle is intended to carry 15 metric tons to low Earth orbit in a fully reusable configuration.
The first Nova is planned to carry 3 metric tons in a fully reusable configuration and 7 tons in an expendable configuration. The rocket’s first stage features seven Zenith engines with a combined thrust of 700,000 pounds. The upper stage contains 24 thrusters surrounding a regeneratively cooled heat shield that protects the rocket during reentry into Earth’s atmosphere.
Following structural tests, the first stage will soon be sent to the Cape Canaveral launch site in Florida, where it will undergo additional tests and static fire tests. The upper stage will also undergo structural and hot-fire tests at the Moses Lake test center in Washington. For the first time since its founding in 2020, Stoke has announced an “early” 2027 target for Nova’s first launch.
Nova Pathfinder will have a diameter of approximately 12.5 feet, while Block 2 will have a diameter of 15 feet. Both versions will use methane-liquid oxygen-fueled Zenith engines, while the upper stage will use hydrogen-liquid oxygen. Block 2 is intended to be designed with a cylindrical upper stage and make its first flight in 2029. With the larger vehicle, the company aims to compete with the vehicles of SpaceX, Blue Origin, Relativity Space and Rocket Lab.
Why it matters
This funding enables Stoke Space to continue its large-scale rocket development program at a stage when it has not yet conducted an orbital flight; however, the company’s first hurdle will be the successful completion of ground tests rather than its design targets. Structural and hot-fire tests for the first stage and upper stage, to be conducted at different facilities, will show to what extent Nova’s announced payload capacity and reusability targets are feasible. The development is significant because it ties Stoke’s competitive ambitions, as it seeks to operate in the same field as companies such as SpaceX, Blue Origin, Relativity Space and Rocket Lab, to technical results. The key question that remains open is whether the 2027 target set for the first flight and the 2029 schedule envisioned for the larger Block 2 can be maintained after the testing process.
Background
Stoke is not a new name in the FikirPilot archive: in the last 90 days, we have published a news story mentioning the name; that article is dated 5 September 2026.