Electronics Weekly
Stoke says it will use the latest backing to complete the development of its Nova launch vehicle. It will also improve its private test facility and manufacturing headquarters, in Kent, Washington state.
Additionally, it aims to complete construction of its Launch Complex 14 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. This has been allocated to Stoke by the United States Space Force for use by Nova.
Investors in the funding round included Breakthrough Energy Ventures, Glade Brook Capital Partners, Industrious Ventures, Leitmotif, Point72 Ventures, Seven Seven Six, the University of Michigan, Woven Capital, and Y Combinator.
Stoke Space
“We deeply appreciate the confidence investors have placed in Stoke and our mission,” said Andy Lapsa, CEO and co-founder of Stoke Space. “This new investment validates our progress and enables us to accelerate the development of technologies that will redefine access to and from space.”
“Rapid and reliable reuse of a rocket’s upper stage is the last big challenge to solve before mobility to and from space becomes akin to other forms of transportation. It represents a significant inflection in the space economy, and in turn opens the door to an incredible set of business opportunities that make life more vibrant on and off Earth.”
Combustion engine
The funding follows Stoke’s successful vertical test firing of its first-stage Zenith engine. This is a full-flow staged combustion engine, the company highlights. And it says, with Zenith, it became one of only two entities globally to successfully develop and test such an engine.
Stoke says it has also pioneered the world’s first actively cooled metallic reentry heat shield. This integrates into its high-efficiency upper-stage engine and enables full and rapid reuse. It operates with a modular liquid hydrogen/liquid oxygen (LH2/LOX) rocket engine.
In terms of payloads, Nova will to carry up to 3,000kg to LEO (low Earth orbit). This is when reusing the stage. It can carry up to 7,000kg to LEO if not.
Image: Stoke Space – Nova
See also: Isar Aerospace raises €165m Series C for Spectrum launcher
