Any orbit Any time
Features
Refit Refuel Refly
Our reusable upper stage features a liquid, regeneratively cooled metallic reentry heat shield with an integrated liquid hydrogen/liquid oxygen (LH2/LOX) rocket engine. It’s robust, resilient to damage, and has passive failure modes. Designed for minimal refurbishment between flights, our second stage unlocks rapid turnaround and offers direct access to GTO, TLI, and other high-energy orbits.
Cooling
Rapid reusability requires design from the ground up
Stoke
Cooled Metallic Heat Shield
Stoke: Cooled Metallic Heat Shield
Legacy Approach
Ceramic Tiles
Legacy Approach: Ceramic Tiles
Fairing
- 15,000 kg
- to LEO (100% reusable)
- 4,000kg
- to GTO
Stage 2
- Andromeda Block 2
- Closed expander cycle engine
- LH2/LOX
- Liquid Hydrogen/Liquid Oxygen
- 440
- Seconds (S) Specific impulse (Isp)
- 150,000+
- LBF THRUST
Stage 1
- 14x Zenith Engines
- Full-flow staged-combustion (FFSC)
- LNG/LOX
- Liquefied natural gas/liquid oxygen
- 345
- Seconds (s) Specific impulse (Isp)
- 1,700,000+
- LBF thrust
Nova PATHFINDER, TAKING FLIGHT
Nova is a fully and rapidly reusable launch system built to deliver critical payloads to, through, and from space. Pathfinder gets Nova flying. Block 2 scales the vision.
History
In 2026, we completed proto-qualification testing of our Stage 1 structure. The campaign verified 46 structural test objectives across the vehicle, while also exercising critical fluid systems, avionics, software, ground systems, and operations procedures. It was a major step on the road to flight.
Redesigned for greater performance in 2025, Andromeda integrates 24 thrusters directly into a regeneratively cooled reentry heat shield. The same engine powers ascent, orbital maneuvering, and landing, enabling the second stage to return from orbit and fly again.
On February 20, 2026, we held a flag-raising ceremony at Space Launch Complex 14 (SLC-14), our launch site at the United States Space Force base in Cape Canaveral, FL. The date marked the beginning of a new era of space flight from the very launch pad where John Glenn became the first American to orbit the Earth exactly 64 years earlier, on February 20, 1962.
Zenith reached its first hot fire in 2024, just 18 months after development began. Since then, we have continued to build, test, and improve the full-flow staged combustion engine through rapid iteration. Seven Zenith engines power Nova Pathfinder’s first stage.
In September 2023, Hopper, our full-scale reusable upper stage prototype, completed a successful vertical takeoff and landing test, validating our approach to re-entering and landing Nova’s second stage.
Manufacturing & Testing
We build for long life and rapid reusability from the start
Our dynamic approach to design, testing, and production enables us to deliver high-quality, efficient, and fully reusable rockets at an unmatched pace.
Our 168,000-square-foot headquarters in Kent, WA is home to our vertically integrated design and manufacturing operations. Leveraging cutting-edge tools and novel methods, Stoke’s rocket engines, structures, and avionics components are built in days, not months or years. And with our test facility just a three-hour drive away in Moses Lake, WA, we test and iterate with unprecedented speed.
Learn more about our testing and manufacturing sites
