For the first time since Stoke was founded in 2020, Lapsa publicly put out a target launch date for Nova, saying the company is aiming for “early” 2027 to launch. Of course, he is fully aware that problems can, and often do, occur during stage testing and final integration of the vehicles.
“I feel good about that launch date,” he said. “I think that’s pretty realistic. But as you know, in our industry, we’ll go when we’re ready.”
During an Ars site visit to the company’s factory in Kent, Washington, last fall, it was clear that the company is in advanced stages of assembly of flight hardware and has additional vehicles in flow. The Nova rocket is real and represents a bold effort to build a small, fully reusable vehicle. The industry will be watching closely, especially now that Stoke has raised so much funding.
Block 2 is new
The Nova Pathfinder vehicle has a diameter of about 12.5 feet, slightly larger than SpaceX’s Falcon 9 vehicle, although it is considerably shorter. The Block 2 version of Nova is intended to have a 15-foot diameter, Lapsa said.
