Nova | AstroForge Autonomy-1 (Demo Flight)
Stoke Space · Cape Canaveral SFS, FL, USA
Q1 2027
Rocket file · LV-533
Nova
Stoke Space · Nova · IN SERVICE
Nova is a reusable launch vehicle built by Stoke Space. It stands 40.2 m tall, lifts 3,000 kg to low Earth orbit. It hasn't flown yet. Its next flight is Nova | AstroForge Autonomy-1 (Demo Flight) for Stoke Space, no earlier than Q1 2027.
Specification
Vehicle spec sheet
ON FILE
Height40.2 m
Diameter4.2 m
Payload to LEO3,000 kg
Payload to GTO2,500 kg
Maiden flightNOT ON FILE
ReusableYes, stage recovery
Launch costNOT ON FILE
StatusIN SERVICE
As listed by Launch Library 2. The cost is Launch Library’s figure, not a quoted price. Figures for rockets outside the sixty most-flown were last read on 2026-11-05.
Flight record
Reliability
NO FLIGHTS
Total flights0
Successful0
Failed0
Success rateNO DATA
Landing attempts0
Landing successN/A
Scheduled1
About Nova
Stoke Space’s Nova launch vehicle is a planned fully reusable 2-stage rocket. The 1st stage uses 7 Zenith Full-flow staged-combustion (FFSC) engines using Liquified natural gas/liquid oxygen (LNG/LOX) as fuel, with restartable capability and landing legs for landing. The 2nd stage is unconventionally designed around a 24-thrust chamber liquid hydrogen/liquid oxygen (LH2/LOX) expander cycle rocket engine that surrounds a regeneratively cooled heat shield, thus enabling the upper stage to return to Earth from orbit without thermal tiles. The nozzle accommodates deep throttle operation even in the presence of atmospheric pressure and serves as an actively cooled metallic heat shield during atmospheric reentry. There is also a center passive bleed that aims to create an aerospike engine-like effect for improved efficiency.
Upcoming flights
Nova in the archive
From NASA's public image library and Wikimedia Commons. Each photo shows the credit its licence asks for and links back to where it came from.
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Common questions
- How many times has Nova flown?
- Nova hasn't flown yet, but 1 flights are scheduled.
- What is Nova's success rate?
- Nova hasn't flown, so there's no success rate yet.
- When is the next Nova launch?
- Nova | AstroForge Autonomy-1 (Demo Flight), flown by Stoke Space. It's set for no earlier than Q1 2027 from Space Launch Complex 14.
- How much can Nova lift to orbit?
- Launch Library 2 lists Nova at 3,000 kg to low Earth orbit and 2,500 kg to geostationary transfer orbit.
- Is Nova reusable?
- Yes. Launch Library 2 lists Nova as reusable. On most reusable rockets that's the first stage, not the whole rocket.