US Department of Defense Office of Strategic Capital (OSC) announced a conditional obligation to provide a loan guarantee for the amount 150 million dollars to Stoke Space Technologies. The funds will support the construction of a second launch pad at the Cape Canaveral Spaceport in Florida.
The new site is designed to service the Nova Block rocket 2 — fully reusable media, capable of outputting to 15 tons of payload into low Earth orbit. This is five times the payload capacity of the Nova Pathfinder rocket, test flights of which are planned at the existing site at the beginning 2027 year.
A second launch pad will provide dedicated ground infrastructure for a larger Block configuration 2. Its construction will allow separation of test and operational launches, increasing the flexibility and productivity of the company's start-up operations.
The loan guarantee is conditional and requires a financial check, legal and technical inspection. Once the deal is finalized, public funds will be combined with private investment to finance construction. Commitment to 150 million dollars was granted less than two months after that, as Stoke Space attracted 1 billion dollars in September 2026 year. The total volume of private capital of the company reached 2,3 billion dollars.
The decision reflects the strategy of the Ministry of Defense regarding the use of debt instruments for the development of the national launch infrastructure. Nova Block rocket debuts 2 scheduled for 2029 year.
Source: https://satnews.com