Stoke Space
Stoke Space Technologies is a U.S. aerospace company developing Nova, a 100% fully and rapidly reusable medium-lift launch vehicle, serving U.S. Space Force, DIU, and commercial satellite customers from Kent and Moses Lake, WA, and Cape Canaveral, FL.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2019
- HeadquartersKent, United States
- Headcount251–500
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingHardware or Manufacturing
What Stoke Space does
Stoke Space Technologies, Inc. is a privately held U.S. aerospace company founded in 2019 by Andy Lapsa (CEO) and Tom Feldman (CTO), headquartered in Kent, Washington. The company is developing the Nova launch vehicle, a 100% fully and rapidly reusable two-stage medium-lift rocket designed for orbital space mobility and point-to-point in-space logistics. Nova's architecture rests on three core technical pillars: (1) the Zenith full-flow staged combustion (FFSC) LNG/LOX first-stage engine producing 100,000+ lbf thrust at 345 s Isp — only the second FFSC engine successfully developed and tested globally; (2) the Andromeda 2 LH2/LOX expander-cycle upper-stage engine (25,000+ lbf thrust, 425+ s Isp) with dual-mode vacuum/sea-level nozzles, hot-staging capability, and 24 embedded thrusters; and (3) what the company describes as the world's first actively cooled metallic reentry heat shield integrated with the upper-stage engine, enabling rapid reuse of the second stage. Nova offers payload accommodations of 3,000 kg to LEO in fully reusable configuration (up to 7,000 kg maximum payload), 2,500 kg to GTO, 1,250 kg to TLI, and 800 kg to C3=0. Operations are vertically integrated across a 168,000 sq ft Kent, WA headquarters, a 75-acre private Moses Lake Test Site, and the reactivated Launch Complex 14 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
The company's business model is anchored on selling launch services to U.S. government and commercial satellite customers, with primary contract vehicles being the U.S. Space Force NSSL Phase 3 Lane 1 IDIQ program (up to $5.6B ceiling across five providers), DIU Novel Responsive Space Delivery awards, and direct commercial bookings such as the Celestis Infinite Flight deep-space memorial mission in late 2026. Revenue streams span transaction-based launch services, managed-services government contracts, specialty in-space services, and a nascent subscription-based software product (Fusion / Boltline). Stoke is pre-revenue on its core launch business, with first orbital Nova flight targeted for late 2026. As of February 2026, the company has raised $1.34 billion cumulatively across seed, Series A, Series B, Series C, Series D (with extension), and a $100M SVB debt facility, with notable investors including US Innovative Technology Fund (Thomas Tull), Breakthrough Energy Ventures, Industrious Ventures, Y Combinator, In-Q-Tel, Toyota Ventures, NFX, and a reported personal stake held by Sam Altman via Hydrazine VC.
Stoke Space firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Stoke Space
- Legal name
- Stoke Space Technologies, Inc.
- Website
- https://www.stokespace.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2019
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 251–500 employees
- Short description
- Stoke Space Technologies is a U.S. aerospace company developing Nova, a 100% fully and rapidly reusable medium-lift launch vehicle, serving U.S. Space Force, DIU, and commercial satellite customers from Kent and Moses Lake, WA, and Cape Canaveral, FL.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Where Stoke Space is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Kent
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices3 records
Markets served
Stoke Space business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Hardware or Manufacturing
- Cost components
- Technology or R&D, Personnel, Infrastructure, Supply Chain, Operations, Marketing or Sales
Revenue model
- Launch services and payload delivery: Stoke plans to generate revenue by selling launches of its Nova medium-lift rocket, transporting customer payloads to LEO, GTO, TLI, and beyond; revenue is per-launch and per-payload, with reusable architecture designed to drive down marginal launch cost. Pre-revenue at time of writing; commercial launch cadence targeted for late 2026 and beyond.
- Government launch contracts (NSSL and other): Revenue from U.S. Space Force National Security Space Launch Phase 3 Lane 1 firm-fixed-price IDIQ contract (potentially $5.6B across five launch companies), DIU awards (e.g., $4.5M NRSD award), and NASA/NSF-funded technology development. Multi-year task order based revenue.
- Specialty/in-space services (e.g., Celestis memorial mission): Bespoke mission services such as launching human ashes and DNA samples beyond the Moon into solar orbit for Celestis' Infinite Flight mission booked on Nova in late 2026; downstream of core launch business but illustrates premium specialty payload economics.
- Software product (Boltline / Fusion by Stoke Space): Commercialization of the proprietary Fusion engineering productivity platform to external hardware companies via the Boltline product line. (Currently primarily internal-use; Boltline storefront visible on Stoke site.)
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Transaction based/ take rate | Multi-year contract | Launch services — quote-based / contract |
| Other | — | Engineering salaries (employer-side reference) up to $327,000 |
Go-to-market motion3 records
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels9 records
Stoke Space product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Stoke Space designs, manufactures, and operates the Nova rocket — a 100% fully and rapidly reusable two-stage medium-lift launch vehicle — to provide commercial and government launch services delivering payloads to LEO, GTO, TLI, and beyond. The vehicle combines the Zenith full-flow staged combustion LNG/LOX first-stage engine, the Andromeda 2 LH2/LOX expander-cycle upper-stage engine with an integrated actively cooled metallic reentry heat shield, hot staging, and 100% reusable payload fairing, enabling on-demand return from orbit via vertical landings.
Product overview
Stoke Space operates as a vertically integrated aerospace company organized around a single core launch product, the Nova rocket, supported by in-house propulsion subsystems and adjacent software and supply-chain offerings. Nova is the company's 100% fully and rapidly reusable medium-lift two-stage launch vehicle, powered by the Zenith full-flow staged combustion LNG/LOX first-stage engine and the Andromeda 2 LH2/LOX upper-stage engine integrated with an actively cooled metallic reentry heat shield that enables refit/refuel/refly operations. Complementing the launch vehicle, Stoke Space sells Fusion, an engineering productivity software platform for hardware design, testing, integration, and traceability, and maintains Boltline as a supply-chain-focused product line linked from its primary navigation. The Nova vehicle itself, the Zenith and Andromeda engines, the Boltline product line, and the Fusion software together form Stoke Space's named product portfolio.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Boltline: Software platform referenced on the Stoke Space website and operated at boltline.com; mentioned as a Stoke product receiving investment alongside the Series D round.
- Fusion by Stoke Space
Products and services
- Nova Launch Vehicle 100% fully and rapidly reusable two-stage medium-lift orbital launch vehicle delivering up to 3,000 kg to LEO in reusable configuration (up to 7,000 kg max payload), 2,500 kg to GTO, 1,250 kg to TLI, and 800 kg to C3=0; supports on-demand return-from-orbit powered vertical landings and refit/refuel/refly operations for U.S. government and commercial customers.
- Zenith Stage 1 Engine Full-flow staged combustion (FFSC) first-stage rocket engine for Nova, burning liquefied natural gas and liquid oxygen (LNG/LOX) with 345 s specific impulse and 100,000+ lbf of thrust, designed for high performance, high efficiency, long life, and rapid reusability.
- Andromeda 2 Upper-Stage Engine Rapidly reusable high-performance upper-stage rocket engine — expander-cycle LH2/LOX with 425+ s specific impulse, 25,000+ lbf thrust, unlimited restarts, and an integrated actively cooled metallic reentry heat shield.
- Fusion by Stoke Space
Quantifiable outcome
- 20x reduction in cost to orbit claimed vs current launch alternatives
- +6 more outcomes
Companies that use Stoke Space
Customer profileNamed customers4 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
Stoke Space technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature7 records
Stoke Space partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core, flagship and minor.
- Linde plc (Steve Angel / Matt White — Board representation)coreSteve Angel (former CEO and Chairman of Linde plc) joined Stoke's Board of Directors in October 2023, succeeded by Matt White (current EVP & CFO of Linde) in December 2025 — bringing industrial gas and engineering experience relevant to Nova's cryogenic propulsion and high-cadence operations.
- Solukon (SFM-AT800-S depowdering technology)coreStoke Space uses Solukon's SFM-AT800-S depowdering technology to process copper thrust chambers (regenerative cooling channels and internal cavities) for its fully reusable Nova rocket — supporting daily, rapid reusability of additively manufactured thrust chambers.
- Additive Industries (MetalFab 420K)coreStoke Space is the first customer for Additive Industries' MetalFab 420K metal 3D printer, used to manufacture parts for the reusable Nova launch vehicle. Stoke purchased five units to increase in-house manufacturing capacity at its Kent, Washington facility.
- United States Space Force (NSSL Phase 3 Lane 1)flagshipSelected Stoke Space in March 2025 to participate in the NSSL Phase 3 Lane 1 program (one of only five launch companies), enabling competition for up to $5.6B in national security launch task orders through June 2029 (with option for additional 5-year ordering period). Stoke received an initial $5M task order for capabilities assessment and tailored mission assurance approach. The Space Force also added Stoke to the Orbital Services Program-4 (OSP-4) provider list in July 2024, and added Stoke as a national security launch provider in 2025.
- Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) — U.S. Department of DefenseflagshipAwarded Stoke Space a $4.5M contract (August 2024) under the Novel Responsive Space Delivery (NRSD) project to prototype responsive and precise point-to-point delivery of cargo to, through, and from space — including dual-use defense and commercial applications.
- Celestis (memorial spaceflight provider)minorCelestis booked Stoke's Nova rocket for its 'Infinite Flight' deep-space memorial mission in late 2026 — carrying human ashes and DNA samples beyond the Moon into solar orbit; Stoke is the launch services provider for Celestis' second deep-space mission.
- Andy Lapsa and Tom Feldman (co-founders)flagshipCo-founders of Stoke Space (founded 2019) — Andy Lapsa serves as CEO and Tom Feldman as CTO; they started the company with the explicit end goal of building 100% fully and rapidly reusable rockets. Lapsa previously worked on advanced rocket engines.
- OpenAI / Sam Altman / Hydrazine (Hydrazine VC)coreOpenAI CEO Sam Altman reportedly explored a multi-billion-dollar deal in summer/fall 2025 to acquire or take a controlling stake in Stoke Space via OpenAI, with the goal of competing with Elon Musk's SpaceX — discussed in WSJ, Forbes, Fox Business, TRT World. Altman's venture capital firm Hydrazine holds a stake, and his husband's family office is also invested. Deal discussions have since quieted.
- NASAcoreNASA has provided funding for Stoke Space's technology development as part of a coalition of government and private partners supporting Nova's development.
- National Science Foundation (NSF)minorNSF has provided funding for Stoke Space's technology development alongside U.S. Space Force, NASA, and DIU.
Scale indicators13 records
Recent moves8 records
Expansion highlights7 records
Stoke Space competitors and assessment
Company assessmentMarket position
Strengths5 records
Competitive moat6 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Stoke Space social profiles
Digital presenceStoke Space financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Stoke Space leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles16 records
Stoke Space funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds14 records
Investors44 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Stoke Space M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Stoke Space
What does Stoke Space do?
Stoke Space designs, manufactures, and operates the Nova rocket — a 100% fully and rapidly reusable two-stage medium-lift launch vehicle — to provide commercial and government launch services delivering payloads to LEO, GTO, TLI, and beyond. The vehicle combines the Zenith full-flow staged combustion LNG/LOX first-stage engine, the Andromeda 2 LH2/LOX expander-cycle upper-stage engine with an integrated actively cooled metallic reentry heat shield, hot staging, and 100% reusable payload fairing, enabling on-demand return from orbit via vertical landings.
Is Stoke Space a public or private company?
Stoke Space is a private company. It is classified as venture growth investor backed and is currently operating.
When was Stoke Space founded?
Stoke Space was founded in 2019. It employs 251 to 500 people.
Where is Stoke Space based?
Stoke Space is headquartered in Kent, United States, in the North America region.
How does Stoke Space make money?
Four revenue lines are on record. Launch services and payload delivery is the primary driver. The others are government launch contracts (NSSL and other), specialty/in-space services (e.g., Celestis memorial mission) and software product (Boltline / Fusion by Stoke Space).
Does Stoke Space have an API?
No public API is recorded for Stoke Space.