Pentagon pledges $150m loan to Stoke Space in push to expand US military space launch capacity

The conditional loan would help fund construction of a second launchpad to support the advancement of Stoke Space’s Nova Block 2 rocket.
The US Department of War has signed a $150 million conditional loan deal with American rocket developer Stoke Space Technologies to support the expansion of Stoke’s launch infrastructure, as the department seeks to increase domestic launch capacity and diversify its options for national security space missions.

The proposed financing, announced on 26 October by the Pentagon’s Office of Strategic Capital (OSC), would help fund a second launchpad at Stoke’s existing facility at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. The new pad would support development of the company’s larger Nova Block 2 rocket, which is expected to make its debut in 2029, following the first orbital flight of Stoke’s smaller Nova Pathfinder rocket scheduled for early 2027.

Stoke is among a growing number of launch providers working with the US Space Force through its National Security Space Launch (NSSL) programme, which gives commercial space companies opportunities to compete for national security mission contracts. Stoke joined the programme alongside California-based space company Rocket Lab in March 2025.

Other participants of the programme include established space companies such as SpaceX, Blue Origin and United Launch Alliance.

In recent months, the US Space Force has continued expanding its roster of providers, adding Impulse Space and Relativity Federal – a subsidiary of Relativity Space – in July 2026, as part of an effort to “strengthen and diversify” US access to space.

The proposed financing for Stoke reflects this broader push to expand US launch capacity, potentially giving the Space Force more options for supporting national security space missions, including those involving satellite communications, navigation and missile warning.

Emil Michael, under secretary of war for research and engineering, says the loan “would help provide the robust infrastructure needed to maintain American dominance in the cislunar domain”.

While SpaceX, Blue Origin and United Launch Alliance have already secured contracts for national security launch orders through the NSSL programme, Stoke must first demonstrate a successful orbital flight before it can compete for such orders.

Stoke must also satisfy various financial, legal, technical, investment and due-diligence requirements before the $150 million loan can be finalised.

The post Pentagon pledges $150m loan to Stoke Space in push to expand US military space launch capacity first appeared on FlightGlobal.

Source: www.flightglobal.com — article syndicated from the publisher’s feed; all rights remain with the original publisher.