Stoke Space and the Race to Full Reusability
- Ryan Bale
- May 1
- 4 min read
Stoke Space isn’t just building a rocket—it’s rewriting the playbook on how rockets return to Earth. While major players like SpaceX and Blue Origin dominate headlines, this Washington-based startup is quietly pushing the boundaries of what reusable launch vehicles can look like. And if they succeed, the next generation of spaceflight may owe as much to the quiet hum of their test stand in Moses Lake as it does to the roar of Falcon 9.
The Core Mission: 100% Reusability, Zero Refurbishment
Founded in 2019 by alumni from Blue Origin and SpaceX, Stoke Space’s core philosophy is built around a single, elegant idea: make 100% of the rocket reusable, with minimal to no refurbishment between flights. Their flagship vehicle, Nova, embodies this goal from top to bottom.
Unlike SpaceX’s current model, which reuses the first stage and builds a new second stage for every mission, Stoke aims to bring back both stages. This has long been considered one of the "holy grails" of rocketry, and few companies have come close. The second stage, in particular, is traditionally considered expendable due to the high heat and stress it experiences during orbital reentry.
Stoke’s solution to that problem is both bold and unconventional.
A Second Stage Like No Other
Most second stages are pencil-like structures topped with payload fairings. Stoke’s second stage, by contrast, looks more like a flying saucer. It features a ring of 30 regeneratively cooled thrusters that wrap around its circumference—an approach that enables both propulsion and active thermal protection during reentry.
In traditional rockets, high-speed reentry requires a heavy heat shield or ablative materials. But Stoke’s engine ring doubles as the heat shield, actively cooling the structure as it plunges through the atmosphere. Instead of a shield burning off and needing replacement, heat is dissipated through a system of coolant loops and preburner-fed propellants. In essence, the entire vehicle is engineered to survive reentry without needing to be touched afterward.
This approach was put to the test in September 2023, when the company flew its Hopper2 prototype—a vertical takeoff and landing vehicle that mimicked the upper stage's core functionality. The flight proved that Stoke’s unusual design could survive descent, maintain stability, and even land vertically using differential thrust from the ring of engines.
A New First Stage—Full-Flow and Fully Reusable
While much of the focus has been on the second stage, Stoke is also building a powerful, reusable first stage that uses a full-flow staged combustion engine—a highly efficient and rarely mastered propulsion cycle. Only SpaceX (with Raptor) and the Soviet Union (with the never-launched RD-270) have brought FFSC engines to full-scale use.
This engine design allows higher performance and longer lifespan—perfect for rapid reuse. Stoke is designing this stage to land vertically and be rapidly turned around for another flight, echoing but refining the model pioneered by Falcon 9.
Nova: A Medium-Lift Reusable Workhorse
Stoke’s two-stage Nova rocket is being designed for medium-lift missions to low Earth orbit. While exact performance figures have yet to be confirmed publicly, industry observers estimate a payload capacity in the range of 3,000–5,000 kg to LEO, putting it in a category below Falcon 9 but above most smallsat launchers.
But Stoke isn’t trying to outmatch the heavy lifters. Instead, it’s aiming to lower launch costs, increase cadence, and eliminate waste—positioning Nova for rapid deployment of satellite constellations, responsive national security missions, and future commercial servicing in orbit.
Government Support and Growing Momentum
In 2024, the U.S. Space Force selected Stoke Space for its Orbital Services Program-4 (OSP-4)—a move that allows Stoke to compete for Department of Defense missions that require flexible, responsive launch services. This was a significant vote of confidence in a company that had yet to reach orbit but had already demonstrated a strong technical foundation.
In the same year, Stoke raised over $100 million in private funding, signaling growing investor belief in its long-term vision.
The Bigger Picture: Stoke vs. the Status Quo
Stoke’s approach challenges conventional thinking in aerospace. Instead of optimizing for a single, expendable launch, it’s optimizing for a thousand launches with the same hardware. That kind of reusability unlocks new economic models—where rockets can be maintained like aircraft and launch costs drop to a fraction of today’s rates.
While companies like SpaceX have focused on partial reuse and incremental improvement, Stoke is betting on a clean-sheet design that prioritizes complete circularity: launch, return, refuel, and fly again.
It’s a risky path, but if they can pull it off, they may not just join the new space race—they might define it.
What’s Next for Stoke Space?
The next major milestones will include full-scale first stage testing, integrated stage launches, and ultimately an orbital flight of the Nova rocket. With proven hot-fire campaigns and suborbital test flights already in the books, all eyes are now on 2025 as the year Stoke Space could take its biggest leap yet.
One thing is clear: Stoke isn’t following the path carved by others. They’re building their own. And if their vision of seamless, routine, and fully reusable spaceflight becomes reality, it won’t just change launch vehicles—it will redefine access to orbit itself.
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