Nova

Nova is Stoke Space’s fully reusable small launch vehicle, designed with reusability as a core requirement from day one rather than an add-on feature. The vehicle features a uniquely innovative upper stage design: a rotating heat shield driven by an annular aerospike nozzle array that redistributes thermal energy uniformly during reentry, allowing the entire upper stage to be recovered propulsively after each mission.

The Nova first stage uses liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen (LOX/LH2) propellants, maximizing specific impulse for the upper stage. The upper stage also uses LOX/LH2, enabling Stoke to leverage the high-energy propellant combination for both performance and reusability. The rotating heat shield/aerospike concept was demonstrated in hover tests at Stoke’s Moses Lake, Washington test facility starting in 2023, making it the first full-scale upper stage engine/vehicle test of an annular aerospike configuration in the modern new space era.

Nova is targeting approximately 2,000 kg to sun-synchronous orbit (SSO) in reusable configuration. Stoke Space has developed the vehicle with minimal outside investment relative to peer companies, pursuing a capital-efficient design-and-test philosophy. The company is backed by investors including Breakthrough Energy Ventures and GS Futures.