Stoke Space Raises $1bn for a Rocket That Has Never Flown
Stoke Space has closed the first tranche of a billion-dollar Series E, co-led by Point72 Ventures and Spark Capital, taking its total funding to $2.3bn. It is building a fully reusable rocket, which nobody has yet flown to orbit. Its own first orbital launch is targeted for early 2027.
September 8, 2026 – 10:13 am
Credit: Stoke Space
A Rocket Unseen, Unflown, But Funded
Stoke Space has raised a billion dollars for a rocket that has never flown. While the Washington company boasts a Series E round, the announcement reveals an initial closing of a billion dollars, leaving the final amount undisclosed.
Investors Take Note
The investor list includes Point72 Ventures, Spark Capital, General Innovation, Glade Brook Capital, US Innovation Technology, Washington Harbour Partners, Woven Capital, and Y Combinator. This unusual inclusion of Y Combinator suggests the early stages of Stoke’s journey.
The Plan: Reusable Rockets
Stoke is developing Nova, a launch vehicle designed to be fully reusable. Both stages are intended to return, refly, and do so quickly. This is a challenging feat, one that SpaceX is still striving to achieve with Starship.
Stoke’s near-term focus is on Nova Pathfinder, which they aim to launch in early 2027. This vehicle will carry payloads while demonstrating the system. A larger vehicle, Nova Block 2, is planned for 2029, with a focus on increased capacity and availability.
A Leap of Faith?
While Stoke presents its 2029 target for Block 2 as a customer request, the reality is that launch schedules are notorious for delays. With seven years since its founding, Stoke is still preparing for its first orbital attempt.
Stoke’s CEO, Andy Lapsa, argues for fully reusable vehicles, stating, "Every mature transportation system is built around fully reusable vehicles. It’s the only way to reach the cost floor while scaling availability." This ambitious goal remains unproven at orbital scale.