Kent-based Stoke Space raises $510 million in funding

Kent-based rocket company Stoke Space announced it has raised $510 million in Series D funding to accelerate production of Nova, its fully reusable medium-lift launch vehicle.

Thomas Tull’s US Innovative Technology Fund heads the investment in conjunction with a $100 million debt facility led by Silicon Valley Bank, according to an Oct. 8 Stoke press release. Stoke’s new financing more than doubles its total capital raised to $990 million.

“The news highlights Stoke’s growing role in strengthening the U.S. space industrial base and supporting resilient launch capacity for national-security and commercial missions,” according to an email from a company spokesperson.

Series D funding is a late-stage funding round, following Seed, Series A, B, and C, where a mature company that has proven its business model and achieved substantial growth raises capital from growth equity or late-stage venture investors to achieve significant goals like large-scale market expansion.

The round also drew support from Washington Harbour Partners LP and General Innovation Capital Partners, underscoring Stoke’s importance to national security and the U.S. industrial base, according to the press release. Existing backers who also participated include 776, Breakthrough Energy, Glade Brook Capital, Industrious Ventures, NFX, Sparta Group, Toyota Ventures, Woven Capital, among others.

Earlier this year, the U.S. Space Force awarded Stoke a National Security Space Launch contract that will expand the country’s access to space. The award reflects the growing demand for medium-lift capacity across commercial, defense, and emerging architectures, such as the Golden Dome. Stoke’s fully and rapidly reusable Nova launch vehicle is being developed to provide high-frequency access to orbit and support missions to, through, and from space, including satellite constellation deployment, in-space mobility, and downmass.

“Launch capacity is now a defining factor in the U.S.’s ability to compete and lead in the space economy,” said Tull, Chairman of USIT. “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. We’re proud to support their mission in defining the next chapter of U.S. aerospace.”

Since its Series C funding, Stoke has completed mission duty cycle testing on Stage 1 and Stage 2 flight-like engine configurations and advanced structural qualifications for both stages. The company has also made substantial progress in the refurbishment of Launch Complex 14 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida, which is scheduled for activation in early 2026, according to the company.

“This funding gives us the runway to complete development and demonstrate Nova through its first flights,” said Andy Lapsa, Stoke co-founder and CEO. “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. The fresh support from our investors and government partners enables our team to remain laser focused on bringing Nova’s unique capabilities to market.”

The new capital will expand production capacity for the Nova vehicle and complete activation of Launch Complex 14 at Cape Canaveral, according to the press release. Stoke will also invest in supply chain, its Boltline product, and infrastructure to prepare for high-cadence launch operations, strengthening capability across the U.S. space industrial base.

“Investors, especially those that may have missed out on SpaceX, are still very much in the mood for moonshots despite gravity, interest rates, and valuation,” Michael Ashley Schulman, partner at Running Point Capital Advisors, in an article on reuters.com. ”Stoke is building like it expects … a future where sending cargo to orbit becomes as routine as shipping boxes through UPS or FedEx.”

Stoke Space opened in Kent in 2019 with co-founders Lapsa and Tom Feldman, each former Kent-based Blue Origin employees. The company focuses on building reusable rockets designed to fly daily. Stoke raised $260 million in Series C funding in January.