MOSES LAKE — A Kent-based rocket startup with operations in Moses Lake says a large first-stage booster structure has arrived here for testing as the company pushes toward its first launch.
“Our Stage 1 structure is now shipped, delivered, and ready for testing in Moses Lake, WA. Standing in its full vertical orientation, this flight hardware will be thoroughly vetted before returning to Kent for some final touches before the journey to Cape Canaveral, FL begins,” Stoke Space said on Tuesday in a post on X.
Co-founder and CEO Andy Lapsa added on Wednesday: “From factory floor to installed on stand in less than 18 hours – not bad for SN1!”
The hardware is part of Stoke’s Nova rocket, which the company is developing as a fully reusable launch vehicle. Photos shared with the post show the towering cylinder being lifted into a vertical test position, a visible sign of how far the program has advanced as it moves closer to flight.
Stoke, founded in 2019, has built a significant presence in central Washington, including testing activity at the Port of Moses Lake. The company has said the site is used for structural and qualification testing as it develops rocket hardware designed to launch, land and fly again.
The startup has also raised substantial funding as it races toward its first launch. In February, Stoke said it had added $350 million to its Series D financing, bringing that round to $860 million and its total funding to $1.34 billion.
The company’s work has also drawn local attention after residents around Moses Lake reported a loud boom during testing last fall. Stoke later said the noise came from a planned structural test on a propellant tank filled with liquid nitrogen and that there was no danger to the community.
Stoke has said it is aiming for first liftoff from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, with the Moses Lake booster now going through one of its most visible steps before final work in Kent and shipment to Florida.