Stoke Space Secures $150 Million in Financing From Defense Department

By Josh Beckerman

The Defense Department inked a $150 million conditional loan commitment with reusable-rocket company Stoke Space Technologies, giving the startup a capital injection as the U.S. aims to boost its warfighting advantage from space.

Stoke, whose technology supports orbital plane changes and the capture and return of space assets, will use the financing for the buildout of its second launchpad at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.

The Pentagon's investment follow Stoke's initial closing of a $1 billion Series E financing round in September, which it said would bring capital raised to $2.3 billion and help accelerate development of its Nova Block 2 launch vehicle.

Stoke is attracting significant funding as the Trump administration funnels some of its defense budget into companies producing the warfare technologies of the future, including hypersonic missiles, space-based weapons and drones. Pentagon leaders earlier this year confirmed the military has deployed weapons in space after declining to talk about space-based weapons for years.

The Office of Strategic Capital said that in addition to supporting the company's expansion at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, the commitment "more broadly supports the expansion of U.S. launch capacity, which is required to meet the rising demand for commercial and national security space launch by the United States Space Force."

Stoke is targeting early 2027 for the first orbital launch of its Nova Pathfinder. Its backers include Point72 Ventures, Y Combinator and others. Porsche also said in September that it participated in the Series E funding.

Write to Josh Beckerman at josh.beckerman@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

October 26, 2026 19:07 ET (23:07 GMT)