Stoke

Stoke Space is based in Kent, Washington, where it operates a 168,000 square foot factory used for engine and stage development. The company is building Nova, a medium-lift launch vehicle designed to be fully reusable from day one, with a target payload of about three tonnes to low Earth orbit. The first stage is powered by the full-flow staged-combustion Zenith engine, while the second stage uses a single Andromeda engine surrounded by a ring of 24 small thrusters and a metallic heat shield that is actively cooled with liquid hydrogen during reentry. That architecture is meant to replace brittle ceramic tiles with a more durable surface that can survive many reuses with minimal refurbishment. The team has flown a hop test of an early second stage demonstrator and continues progressing toward orbital flight. A $260 million Series C closed to fund full-vehicle development.