Stoke Space conducts second stage fit checks, completes first stage engines ahead of Nova debut
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While Starship is grabbing headlines, another fully reusable vehicle is advancing towards a potential 2026 debut. Nova, developed by Stoke Space, is a medium-lift vehicle that has reached several key milestones for its maiden launch over the last few weeks, including vehicle mating. The company has also completed construction of three first-stage Zenith engines and shipped them for testing.
Nova’s second stage sees fit checks
At the beginning of August, Stoke announced that it had mated Nova’s payload module, second stage tanks, and Andromeda 2 engine for “fit checks.” While this mated second stage stack will likely not be used for Nova’s first flight, conducting fit-check tests and ensuring all vehicle structures and systems work together is a crucial milestone to reach ahead of the rocket’s first flight.
Nova’s 13.1-m second stage is designed to be fully reusable and uses the Andromeda 2 engine, fueled by liquid hydrogen (LH2) and liquid oxygen (LOX). The Andromeda 2 engine features a ring of 24 thrusters capable of unlimited restarts, situated around the stage’s regeneratively cooled heat shield that uses cryogenic LH2 to actively cool itself, eliminating the need for traditional heat-shield tiles. This active-cooling approach allows the second stage to survive the intense thermal environment of reentry. By circulating cryogenic hydrogen through the metallic base, the stage can return from orbit and land propulsively. The same thruster ring that provides main propulsion in space enables precise control during landing.
Nova is capable of in-space refueling and will also be able to perform rendezvous, capture, and repositioning of space assets.
We recently mated the payload module, second stage, and Andromeda engine at our rocket factory in Kent, WA. Fit check, check.
pic.twitter.com/woKsLyAal1
— Stoke Space (@stoke_space) August 7, 2026
Three flight-purpose Zenith engines completed
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After successfully proto-qualifying its first stage in June with 46 structural objectives, Stoke recently completed the construction of three Zenith first stage engines for Nova’s first flight. Named Zenith 14, Zenith 15, and Zenith 16, Stoke shipped the engines to its test facility at Moses Lake, Washington, for validation testing.
The full-flow staged-combustion Zenith engines use methane (CH4) and LOX as propellants. Seven Zenith engines will power Nova’s reusable first stage, producing 3,110 kN of thrust at liftoff. In a fully reusable configuration, Stoke has designed Nova to deliver approximately 3,000 kg to low-Earth orbit. When the second stage is expended, the vehicle can deliver 7,000 kg to low-Earth orbit. The vehicle can also place 2,500 kg into geostationary transfer orbit.
The Nova first stage is expected to conduct return-to-launch-site landings and droneship-like landings on later flights, although the first flight is likely to be expended.
The first three of our flight one engines are designed, built, and ready for testing.
Stage 1 Zenith engines ZE14, 15, and 16 are ready to ship from our shop floor in Kent, WA to Moses Lake for hot fire acceptance testing.
Getting our Zenith engines through qualification… pic.twitter.com/o1EpFLVfY7
— Stoke Space (@stoke_space) July 29, 2026
Launch Complex-14
Nova will launch from Launch Complex 14 (LC-14) at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. The storied launch site was used for Mercury-Atlas launches, including Friendship 7, which took the first American astronaut, John Glenn, into orbit. Stoke was allocated the pad in 2023, and after several years of construction and modifications, the launch complex was mostly completed in recent weeks. Now, Stoke will complete its final testing and pad activation before Nova’s debut flight.
The launch complex features a Horizontal Integration Facility (HIF), where Nova stages will arrive from Washington for integration and mating ahead of launch. Once mated, the vehicles will travel approximately 213 m to the launch mount, where they will be raised vertically. The launch mount is constructed of reinforced concrete and is capable of handling up to 1.2 million pounds of thrust from the vehicle at liftoff.
Below the mount is a steel-reinforced concrete flame trench built to contain and direct the rocket’s exhaust, protecting surrounding infrastructure. Next to the launch mount, flame trench, and diverter is a 39 m umbilical support tower. This structure will supply propellants, power, and data to the vehicle while it is on the launch mount.
Satellite image of Launch Complex 14. (Credit: Planet Labs/Harry Stranger)
Partnerships and Company Roadmap
Alongside the completion of its launch complex and development of Nova, Stoke and NASA recently announced a partnership through the agency’s Space Technology Mission Directorate to enhance Nova’s upper-stage reentry capabilities. This collaboration will enable Stoke to advance its Entry, Descent, and Landing (EDL) technologies by leveraging NASA’s hypervelocity free-flight testing, aerodynamics, and guidance expertise at NASA’s Ames Research Center. The project also aims to further develop the vehicle’s regeneratively cooled metallic heat shield.
“We’re excited and proud to partner with NASA again. We received a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) award in 2020 to develop a novel rocket engine configuration that resulted in the Stage 2 Andromeda integrated engine and regeneratively cooled re-entry heat shield,” said Stoke in a statement.
Stoke is also reportedly raising $1 billion at a valuation of around $9 billion to accelerate Nova’s development and production. 2026 is set to be a pivotal year for Stoke and Nova, though many crucial milestones remain. All elements of the vehicle will need to be acceptance-tested and integrated, and the company will need to ship the rocket’s stages from its Washington facilities to Cape Canaveral, where they will be integrated in the company’s HIF and ultimately rolled out for launch.
(Lead Image: Second stage fit checks with Andromeda 2 and the payload module. Credit: Stoke Space)
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