Stoke Space clears 46 structural tests on Nova rocket ahead of late-2026 debut

Stoke Space has completed 46 structural verification tests on the first stage of its Nova rocket, clearing a major hardware milestone on the road to a late-2026 debut. The tests were carried out over roughly three weeks at the company's Moses Lake, Washington facility and covered everything from pressurized tank loading to avionics operation in hurricane-force winds and lightning. With structural qualification now behind it, Nova is the closest any American rocket outside SpaceX has come to full reusability on both stages.

The hardware

Nova's first stage stands 27.1 meters tall and runs seven Zenith engines burning methalox — a methane-liquid oxygen mix favored by modern reusable rockets, including SpaceX's Raptor. Combined thrust at liftoff is 3,110 kN, and the engines have already logged hours of hot-fire testing, so this is hardware that has been genuinely wrung out rather than a paper specification. The stage is designed to return to the launch pad or a sea platform after each flight.

Sound?on: epic fly-by footage of the ongoing Zenith engine testing and Stage 1 structural qualifications happening at our test site in Moses Lake. ?? pic.twitter.com/WTx3MoZSmh

— Stoke Space (@stoke_space) June 2, 2026

The second stage is where Nova gets unusual. It uses an actively cooled metallic heat shield with 24 thrust chambers — the Andromeda 2 engine — fed by liquid hydrogen regenerative cooling. The design eliminates thermal tiles entirely, the same fragile ceramic squares that cost the Space Shuttle so much maintenance time. If both stages recover cleanly, nothing gets thrown away except propellant.

Canaveral and the competition

The debut launch is targeted for the end of 2026 from Launch Complex 14 at Cape Canaveral — the same pad that sent John Glenn into orbit in 1962. Stoke refurbished it in about 12 months, recycling more than 8,000 kg of Mercury-era concrete in the process. The first mission will fly to heliocentric orbit without attempting a first-stage landing; that comes later.

Nova carries up to 3 tonnes to low Earth orbit, sitting between Rocket Lab's Electron and Falcon 9 on the payload scale. That gap has long been underserved, and the US Space Force has already selected Stoke through its Orbital Services Program, giving the company contracted revenue before its first launch. Stoke has raised $1.34 billion in total funding, including a Series D round closed in June 2026, per NASASpaceFlight.

The real test comes when those seven Zenith engines light for the first time on an actual flight. But after 46 structural verifications, the hardware is at least ready to try, per Wikipedia (Stoke Space Nova).