Stoke Space Technologies has completed the initial closing of a $1 billion Series E funding round, positioning the startup to compete directly with SpaceX in the market for fully reusable launch vehicles. According to CEO Andy Lapsa, the capital will be used to scale production infrastructure, increase flight frequency, and fund the development of the company’s next-generation rocket.
The investment round was led by Point72 Ventures, the technology investment arm of hedge fund billionaire Steve Cohen, alongside Spark Capital. Other participants included General Innovation, Glade Brook Capital, US Innovation Technology, Washington Harbour Partners, Woven Capital, and Y Combinator. This latest injection brings Stoke’s total fundraising to $2.3 billion.
While competitors such as Rocket Lab, Relativity Space, and Firefly Aerospace focus on various aspects of launch accessibility, Stoke is pursuing the industry’s most challenging objective: a rocket where both the booster and the second stage return to Earth for reuse. SpaceX has invested over $10 billion in its Starship program, which aims for full reusability but has yet to achieve orbit, despite nearing the milestone on upcoming flights.
A critical differentiator for Stoke lies in its thermal protection system. Unlike rivals that have struggled with passive shielding materials for the second stage during atmospheric reentry, Stoke employs an active cooling method. Super-cooled liquid hydrogen is flowed through the vehicle’s thermal shielding. Lapsa noted that the company has conducted exhaustive ground tests and plans to overcool the surface during early flights to ensure safety.
The company’s first vehicle, the Nova Pathfinder, is scheduled for its inaugural flight in early 2027. Following successful structural and operational tests at its Moses Lake facility, Stoke will now conduct integrated ground tests, firing each stage to simulate launch conditions before mounting them on the launch pad. The Pathfinder is designed to carry three metric tons to low-Earth orbit, which Lapsa describes as the largest payload capacity for any U.S. rocket debut.
Stoke has already secured launch contracts for the Pathfinder, with multiple vehicles currently in production. Looking further ahead, the company is developing the Nova Block 2, a larger variant capable of lifting 15 metric tons to orbit. Built on the same engine and heat shield technologies, the Block 2 is targeted for deployment in 2029, coinciding with Elon Musk’s stated timeline for phasing out the Falcon 9.
Lapsa highlighted a potential market opportunity if SpaceX retires the Falcon 9. He pointed out that while Starship offers immense capability, it is primarily designed for SpaceX’s internal projects, such as its own satellite constellation, which may limit availability for third-party customers or come at a premium. Stoke, by contrast, has no plans to operate its own space assets, focusing solely on providing launch services. “Now is the time to get moving so that we can finally start deploying a lot of the constellations and applications that we aspire to as an industry but have been stuck on the ground,” Lapsa said.
A billion dollars sounds like a lot, but SpaceX spent ten on Starship. Can they really catch up with thermal management alone?
Active cooling is a bold choice. Hope they don’t overcomplicate the reentry phase like so many others have tried before.