Space Economy Market by Company
The commercial space economy is shifting from government-funded missions to private, reusable, recurring-revenue businesses. This sector tracks the public pure-plays and the major private players across launch, satellite communications, earth observation, direct-to-cell connectivity, and lunar access.
The Space sector on Sterling tracks 12 companies, led by Iridium Communications (32.7%), Rocket Lab (22.6%), Redwire (12.6%) by share of FY2025 revenue across the eight public pure-plays, excluding SpaceX (about 88% of the pool on its own) and the private Blue Origin.
Space market share by company (2025)
| # | Company | Market share |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Share of tracked-roster FY2025 revenue across the eight public pure-plays. SpaceX is excluded by design: its S-1 reports FY2025 revenue of $18.7B, consolidated with xAI and X, which would be about 88% of this table. Blue Origin is private and reports no revenue. FY2025 revenue $872M. Mature satellite-communications operator; service, equipment and engineering revenue across a 66-satellite LEO constellation. | 32.7% |
| 2 | Rocket LabRKLB FY2025 revenue $602M. Launch plus space systems; space systems is the larger half of revenue. | 22.6% |
| 3 | RedwireRDW FY2025 revenue $335M. | 12.6% |
| 4 | FY2026 revenue $308M (fiscal year ended January 31, 2026). Fiscal year ends in January, so FY2026 is the closest match to calendar 2025. | 11.6% |
| 5 | FY2025 revenue $210M. | 7.9% |
| 6 | FY2025 revenue $160M. First full year as a public company following its 2025 IPO. | 6% |
| 7 | BlackSkyBKSY FY2025 revenue $107M. | 4% |
| 8 | AST SpaceMobileASTS FY2025 revenue $71M. Pre-commercial. Revenue is largely government and development contracts, not service revenue, despite a market value far above the rest of this table. | 2.7% |
Space at a Glance
Sourced snapshot metrics for the commercial space economy as of August 2026. Starlink customers are the last disclosed figure (12.0 million at 30 Jun 2026), not an interpolated later count.
Structural Signals
The four commercial layers: cheaper launch, satellite services, earth observation as a data business, and commercial lunar access.
- •Reusable launch has cut the cost of reaching orbit by roughly an order of magnitude over the past decade, led by SpaceX. Rocket Lab's Neutron and Blue Origin's New Glenn are now entering the medium-to-heavy class.
- •Direct-to-cell is the newest commercial frontier. AST SpaceMobile and the Starlink and T-Mobile partnership aim to connect ordinary, unmodified smartphones straight to satellites.
- •Earth observation has matured into a recurring-revenue data business. Planet Labs and BlackSky sell imagery and analytics subscriptions rather than one-off satellites.
- •Commercial lunar access opened in February 2024 when Intuitive Machines' IM-1 Odysseus became the first private spacecraft to soft-land on the Moon, followed by Firefly's Blue Ghost in 2025.
The Four Commercial Layers
Launch, satellite communications, earth observation, and infrastructure (including lunar). Orbital data centers are a separate sector.
| Layer | What it sells |
|---|---|
| Launch | A ride to orbit (and, for some vehicles, a ride back). Cadence and reuse, not published dollars per kilogram. |
| Satellite communications | Connectivity from orbit: broadband, voice and IoT, and direct-to-cell to unmodified phones. |
| Earth observation | Imagery and analytics as a recurring data business. Optical, SAR, hyperspectral, and thermal. |
| Infrastructure and lunar | Hardware others fly, plus commercial lunar landing under NASA CLPS. |
Spacecraft Launched in 2025 by User
Space Foundation: 4,492 spacecraft launched in 2025. Commercial users were 4,040 (nearly 90%). Civil 230, military 222.
4,492
2025 spacecraft launched
- Commercial90%
- Civil5%
- Military5%
Commercial Lunar Landings
IM-1 was the first commercial US soft landing since Apollo 17. Firefly Blue Ghost Mission 1 was the first fully successful upright commercial landing. IM-3 is scheduled, not flown.
IM-1 Odysseus
22 Feb 2024
Intuitive Machines LUNR · Malapert A, south polar region
Soft landing. Tipped about 30 degrees. NASA called the CLPS delivery a success. First commercial US lunar landing since Apollo 17.
Blue Ghost Mission 1
2 Mar 2025
Firefly Aerospace FLY · Mons Latreille, Mare Crisium
Upright, stable landing. First fully successful commercial lunar landing. NASA CLPS payloads operated through the lunar day.
IM-2 Athena
6 Mar 2025
Intuitive Machines LUNR · Mons Mouton, lunar south pole
Reached the surface but came to rest on its side in a crater. Surface operations ended in under 13 hours. CLPS shots-on-goal frame.
IM-3
H2 2026 (planned)
Intuitive Machines LUNR · Reiner Gamma (planned)
Not flown. NASA CLPS CP-11 / Lunar Vertex. Wikipedia and NASA list a second-half 2026 target as of August 2026.
| Mission | Operator | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
| IM-1 Odysseus | Intuitive MachinesLUNR | Soft landing. Tipped about 30 degrees. NASA called the CLPS delivery a success. First commercial US lunar landing since Apollo 17. |
| Blue Ghost Mission 1 | Firefly AerospaceFLY | Upright, stable landing. First fully successful commercial lunar landing. NASA CLPS payloads operated through the lunar day. |
| IM-2 Athena | Intuitive MachinesLUNR | Reached the surface but came to rest on its side in a crater. Surface operations ended in under 13 hours. CLPS shots-on-goal frame. |
| IM-3 | Intuitive MachinesLUNR | Not flown. NASA CLPS CP-11 / Lunar Vertex. Wikipedia and NASA list a second-half 2026 target as of August 2026. |
The Players
The companies tracked in this sector, from the oldest to the newest, with where they were founded and the milestone that put each on the map.
| Company | Founded |
|---|---|
| Blue OriginPrivate | 2000 |
| Iridium CommunicationsIRDM | 2001 |
| SpaceXSPCX | 2002 |
| Rocket LabRKLB | 2006 |
| Planet LabsPL | 2010 |
| Intuitive MachinesLUNR | 2013 |
| BlackSkyBKSY | 2013 |
| Firefly AerospaceFLY | 2017 |
| AST SpaceMobileASTS | 2017 |
| RedwireRDW | 2020 |
Where They're Based
The US space industry clusters into a few metros. Switch between hubs to see the companies headquartered there, including nearby private players this tracker does not cover yet.
The densest space hub on Earth. Long Beach, Hawthorne, El Segundo, and Redondo Beach pack in more rocket and satellite builders than anywhere else in the world.
Companies in the Space sector (12)
Related industries
Frequently asked questions
What is the Space sector?
The commercial space economy is shifting from government-funded missions to private, reusable, recurring-revenue businesses. This sector tracks the public pure-plays and the major private players across launch, satellite communications, earth observation, direct-to-cell connectivity, and lunar access.
Which companies lead the Space sector?
Sterling tracks 12 companies in Space, led by Iridium Communications (33%), Rocket Lab (23%), Redwire (13%), Planet Labs (12%), Intuitive Machines (8%) and Firefly Aerospace (6%) by share of FY2025 revenue across the eight public pure-plays, excluding SpaceX (about 88% of the pool on its own) and the private Blue Origin.
How can I invest in the Space sector?
Publicly traded names in Space include Rocket Lab (RKLB), AST SpaceMobile (ASTS), Intuitive Machines (LUNR), Planet Labs (PL) and Redwire (RDW). Compare them side by side on Sterling. Data last updated November 3, 2026.