Stoke Space raises a ton of money as it moves closer to debut launch
"It’s a very different conversation with investors than it was five years ago."
A Washington-based launch company announced Wednesday that it has raised $260 million in Series C funding, a significant capital raise at a time when it has become more difficult for some space companies to attract funding.
"The market is tough, but I think what we’re doing is poised to go straight to the end state of the industry, and I think investors recognize that," said Andy Lapsa, Stoke Space's co-founder and chief executive officer, in an interview with Ars after the announcement.
By "end state of the industry," Lapsa means that Stoke is developing a fully reusable, medium-lift rocket named Nova. The vehicle's first stage will land vertically, similarly to a Falcon 9 rocket, and the second stage, which has a novel metallic heat shield and engine design, will also land back on Earth.
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