AUCKLAND, New Zealand — Stoke Space, a company focused on creating a fully reusable launch vehicle, has secured $510 million to finance its operations through the initial launches. This latest funding round brings their total capital raised to nearly $1 billion.
Stoke Space announced on October 8th that it closed a $510 million Series D round, spearheaded by the U.S. Innovative Technology Fund (USIT), with contributions from several other investors. The company also obtained a $100 million debt facility from Silicon Valley Bank. This Series D round follows less than nine months after a $260 million Series C round.
The new funding brings Stoke's total capital raised to $990 million. The company stated that the new investment will accelerate the development of its Nova rocket, a medium-lift vehicle designed with both first and second stages for reuse, and expand its production capabilities.
“This funding gives us the runway to complete development and demonstrate Nova through its first flights,” said Andy Lapsa, Stoke’s chief executive, in the announcement.
Since the Series C round in January, the company has progressed on both stages of Nova, carrying out full mission duty-cycle test firings of “flight-like” engines. It has also been working to adapt Launch Complex 14 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station for Nova's use. Stoke anticipates completing the launch complex early next year but has not yet announced a projected launch date for Nova.
A significant milestone occurred in March when the U.S. Space Force selected Nova, along with Rocket Lab’s Neutron, for the National Security Space Launch (NSSL) Phase 3 Lane 1 contract. They joined Blue Origin, SpaceX, and United Launch Alliance on this contract, designed for missions with less stringent requirements than Lane 2. Nova is designed to carry 3,000 kilograms to low Earth orbit in a reusable configuration and 7,000 kilograms in an expendable configuration. This fills a niche between smaller vehicles and larger vehicles like Falcon 9 and Vulcan Centaur.
The rocket’s reusable upper stage also enables applications such as in-space mobility and the return of cargo from orbit. “We’ve designed Nova to address a real gap in launch capacity, and the National Security Space Launch award, along with our substantial manifest of contracted commercial launches, affirms that need,” Lapsa added.
USIT, the lead investor in the round, describes itself as a fund that invests in companies “with critical technologies relevant to the national interest,” such as Stoke’s development of a reusable launcher. “Launch capacity is now a defining factor in the U.S.’s ability to compete and lead in the space economy,” stated Thomas Tull, USIT’s chairman. “Stoke’s pioneering approach to reusable launch systems directly advances our national security and commercial access to orbit. Their vision for resilient, high-frequency launch operations is the kind of innovation essential to maintaining leadership in the space industry.”
Other new investors in the Series D round include Washington Harbour Partners LP and General Innovation Capital Partners. Existing investors that participated include 776, Breakthrough Energy, Glade Brook Capital, Industrious Ventures, NFX, Sparta Group, Toyota Ventures, and Woven Capital.