Kent-based Stoke Space, the rocket company building the world’s first 100% reusable medium-lift rocket, has raised $260 million in new Series C investment to drive continued growth and innovation.
The investment more than doubles the company’s total funding, bringing it to $480 million, according to a Jan. 15 Stoke Space press release.
The funding round involves new and existing investors including Breakthrough Energy Ventures, Glade Brook Capital Partners, Industrious Ventures, Leitmotif, Point72 Ventures, Seven Seven Six, the University of Michigan, Woven Capital and Y Combinator, among others, according to Stoke Space.
This Series C funding round reflects the growing demand for Stoke’s innovative approach to creating ultra-low-cost on-demand space transportation, as well as the exceptional progress the company has made in developing the fully reusable solutions that make low-cost access to and from space possible, according to the press release.
“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.”
In Series C funding, investors inject capital into successful businesses in an effort to receive more than double that amount back, according to investopedia.com. Series C funding focuses on scaling the company, growing as quickly and successfully as possible.
The funding round comes just weeks after the company’s successful vertical test firing of its first-stage Zenith engine on its new, state-of-the-art test stand in Moses Lake, according to Space Stoke. With Zenith, Stoke became one of only two entities globally to successfully develop and test a full-flow staged combustion engine, the type of rocket engine with the highest possible efficiency. Stoke has also pioneered the world’s first actively cooled metallic reentry heat shield, which is integrated into its high-efficiency upper-stage engine and enables full and rapid reuse.
“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,” Lapsa said. “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.”
Stoke intends to use the new funding to complete construction at the historic Launch Complex 14 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida, which has been allocated by the United States Space Force for dedicated use by Stoke’s Nova launch vehicle.
Launch Complex 14 was host to John Glenn’s iconic Friendship 7 flight in 1962, which made him the first American to reach orbit. The funds will also be used to finalize the development of Nova, and for enhancements to Stoke’s private test facility and manufacturing headquarters.
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.
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