Stoke Space evaluating expansion of Cape site for second Nova pad

Date:
Fri, 06 Nov 2026 21:19:28 +0000

Description:
Stoke Space has been granted Right of Entry by Space Launch Delta 45 to property The post Stoke Space evaluating expansion of Cape site for second Nova pad appeared first on NASASpaceFlight.com .

FULL STORY ======================================================================

Stoke Space has been granted Right of Entry by Space Launch Delta 45 to property north of its existing Space Launch Complex 14 (SLC-14) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.

The authorisation allows engineering studies, environmental assessments and site surveys needed to develop a second launch site for its Nova rocket, and is intended to support high-cadence launch and re-entry operations as Stoke works toward the larger Nova Block 2 vehicle. Stokes rebuilt SLC-14 was designed for fast-turn launch and recovery operations, and the company says the northern property, in the location of LC-15, will extend that capability as both vehicles come online. Zoomed-in view of the northern location Stoke requested for access via Max Evans/NSF

Every launch provider strengthens the nations access to space, said Col.
Brian Chatman, commander of Space Launch Delta 45 and director of the Eastern Range.

Our team here at the Eastern Range is proud to support partners bringing more launch capability to the United States, and we look forward to enabling more launches from the Space Coast.

Brian Wemple, Stokes Vice President of Launch, said the milestone reflects Space Launch Delta 45s commitment to developing Eastern Range infrastructure for fully and rapidly reusable launch.

Its an honor to build the future of launch on the historic ground of SLC-14, and we are excited to carry that momentum forward with this expansion.

From Mercury pad to Nova

SLC-14 holds a prominent place in American space history.

It was the site of John Glenns Friendship 7 mission on 20 February 1962, the first orbital flight by a US astronaut, and later supported the crewed Mercury-Atlas launches of Scott Carpenter, Wally Schirra and Gordon Cooper before being deactivated in February 1967. The Missile Row of old, via NASA

The pad remained largely dormant for decades and forms part of the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station National Historic Landmark district, designated
in 1984.

Stoke was allocated the complex in 2023 following a competitive process , and received the property licence in 2024.

Stoke says it restored and reactivated the site in just over a year after completing environmental assessments. The early days of Stokes pad work via Joe B for NSF.

Work included a Horizontal Integration Facility, launch mount, umbilical support structure, flame trench and diverter, and propellant systems.

NSF flyovers through 2025 and 2026 showed the pad progressing to a largely complete state , with the site appearing ready to receive hardware once it arrives from Stokes facilities in Washington state.

The company has described the rebuilt complex as purpose-built for rapid reuse, with infrastructure sized for repeated launch and recovery cycles.

Concrete from the original Mercury-era pad was crushed and reused in some areas during reconstruction, and the prominent launch tower is painted red in tribute to the early Space Coast launch towers. See NSFs Stoke Nova update
and later Cape progress coverage for more on the rebuilt pad. Nova
Pathfinders path to the Cape

Nova Pathfinder is Stokes first orbital configuration and is currently targeted for launch around mid-2027.

The vehicle is powered by seven Zenith full-flow staged-combustion engines on the first stage and a single Andromeda hydrolox engine on the upper stage, which incorporates an actively cooled metallic heat shield.

Pathfinder is designed to demonstrate full and rapid reuse technologies while carrying customer payloads.

Nova flight hardware is produced and tested at Stokes Washington facilities. Nova Pathfinder first stage on the stand at Stokes Moses Lake Test Site
during proto-qualification testing. (Credit: Stoke Space)

Eric Berger reported that Stoke shipped its first flight booster from Washington on 4 November, bound for Cape Canaveral. Stoke Space shipped its flight one first stage from Washington last night, and it is bound for the launch pad in Cape Canaveral. Big step toward a launch in early to mid-2027.

Eric Berger (@SciGuySpace) November 5, 2026



Once stages arrive at SLC-14, final mating in the Horizontal Integration Facility occurs before rollout to the pad. Ahead of this first flight, a
large amount of testing is expected for both the rocket and the pad systems.

The company has said Pathfinder flights in 2027 and 2028 will generate operational experience while Nova Block 2 development continues in parallel.

Block 2 and the second pad

Nova Block 2, unveiled in September 2026 , is a larger configuration
targeting 15 tonnes to low Earth orbit in a fully reusable mode.

It will use 14 Zenith engines on the first stage and an upper stage powered
by the more powerful Andromeda Block 2 propulsion system. With our Nova Pathfinder launch vehicle well under way, its time to share more about Nova Block 2, the larger configuration our team has been developing in parallel. Get the details in our blog post, Scaling Nova: https://t.co/Ok2ZptMUy4

Stoke Space (@stoke_space) September 10, 2026



The first flight of this variant is currently planned for 2029. The proposed second pad is intended to support high-cadence operations for both vehicles once Block 2 enters service.

The announcement follows Stokes recent $1 billion Series E funding round , also announced in September 2026.

The company has positioned Block 2 to meet projected demand for constellation deployment and replenishment as Pathfinder establishes initial flight experience from the historic complex.

The Right of Entry is the first formal step toward opening additional Eastern Range property for fully and rapidly reusable operations.

The announcement did not give a construction timetable.

For now, Stokes near-term focus remains completing Nova Pathfinder and preparing SLC-14 to receive the inbound flight hardware.

(Featured Image: Stokes Cape Pad via the latest NSF KSC/Cape Flyover for
NSF. 100s of photos from 100s of flyovers available to all L2 members).

The post Stoke Space evaluating expansion of Cape site for second Nova pad appeared first on NASASpaceFlight.com .



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Link to news story: https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2026/11/stoke-expansion-cape-second-nova/

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