Stoke Space has completed Stage 2 structural qualification for the Nova rocket. Photo: Stoke Space

Launch startup Stoke Space has raised a $510 million Series D funding round, which the company says will fund its Nova rocket through the first flights. This is the company’s second funding round this year after raising $260 million in a Series C in January. 

Thomas Tull’s U.S. Innovative Technology Fund (USIT) led the round. Tull previously founded Legendary Entertainment, which produced “The Dark Knight” and “Watchmen, and has since invested in Capella Space and Logos Space. 

Existing investors 776, Breakthrough Energy, Glade Brook Capital, Industrious Ventures, NFX,  Sparta Group, Toyota Ventures, Woven Capital and others also participated in the round, which doubles the company’s total capital raised to $990 million. 

Stoke Space, based in Kent, Washington, is developing the reusable, medium-lift Nova launch vehicle. Nova is designed to carry 3,000 kg to Low-Earth Orbit (LEO) in the reusable configuration and 7,000 kg to LEO in the maximum payload capacity. It is also designed to lift 2,500 kg to Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit (GTO). 

Since its Series C round in January, the company reports it has completed mission duty cycle testing on Stage 1 and Stage 2 flight-like engine configurations and advanced structural qualifications for both stages. 

In March, U.S. Space Force Space Systems Command added Stoke Space and Rocket Lab to its National Security Space Launch (NSSL) Phase 3 Lane 1 for the first time. This allows Stoke Space to compete for national security launches once the Nova rocket is demonstrated and NSSL-certified. 

“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,” co-founder and CEO Andy Lapsa said in a release. 

The company plans to use the funding to expand production capacity for the Nova vehicle and complete activation of Launch Complex 14 at Cape Canaveral. Stoke said the launch complex is set to be activated “in early 2026,” but did not share more specifics for a first Nova launch. 

Stoke also has a software product for engineering and manufacturing called Boltline, which it also plans to invest in with this funding.