Space is hot right now. Scorching hot. And I'm not talking about the temperatures outside Earth's atmosphere.
It's been half a century since we saw this level of public fascination with rockets, satellites, and the cosmic beyond. At the epicenter of this renewed fervor? SpaceX – Elon Musk's brainchild that has fundamentally transformed space from a government-dominated playground to a capitalist free-for-all.
The question I hear constantly from readers and friends alike boils down to this: "How the heck do I invest in SpaceX when they refuse to go public?" It's the ultimate cosmic tease. Musk's company remains stubbornly private despite those persistent IPO rumors that pop up every few months (kinda like those ever-shifting Mars colony timelines that seem to recede into the future with each passing year).
So what's a space-obsessed retail investor supposed to do with their brokerage account? Let's dig into the companies orbiting in SpaceX's gravity well.
Following the Money: The Supply Chain Angle
One approach – and I've seen mixed results with this strategy personally – is tracking the SpaceX supply chain. Despite Musk's notorious insistence on vertical integration (the man never met a manufacturing process he didn't want to bring in-house), SpaceX still needs specialized components from other companies.
Hexcel Corporation (HXL) makes those fancy carbon fiber composites essential for aerospace applications. L3Harris Technologies (LHX), which gobbled up Aerojet Rocketdyne, has historically supplied components to SpaceX. Then there's Circor International (CIR), producing the specialized valves and fluid-control doohickeys that keep rockets from, well... exploding.
The problem? Good luck figuring out exactly how much SpaceX business actually matters to these companies. I spent three days combing through earnings calls last year trying to quantify the "SpaceX effect" on one supplier. The result? A vague mention of "increased aerospace demand" and not a single specific reference to their most famous customer.
If You Can't Join 'Em, Bet on Their Competitors
Another approach comes from the "rising tide lifts all rockets" school of thought – investing in SpaceX's publicly-traded rivals.
Rocket Lab USA (RKLB) has carved out a nice little niche in the small satellite launch business. Their Electron rocket has a pretty decent track record, and they're developing something called Neutron to handle bigger payloads. I visited their Long Beach facility last fall – impressive operation, though nowhere near SpaceX's scale.
Then there's Astra Space (ASTR)... yikes. Their stock performance resembles one of their rockets – brief excitement followed by a catastrophic plunge to Earth. I still have the notification on my phone from when their last rocket failed mid-flight. Not great.
And don't forget the old-school players – Boeing (BA) and Lockheed Martin's (LMT) joint venture, United Launch Alliance. They're like the expensive steakhouse that somehow stays in business despite the trendy new spots opening up down the street. Government contracts keep the lights on, but innovation? That's... debatable.
Satellite Plays: The Connectivity Game
SpaceX's Starlink has completely rewritten the rules of satellite internet. Several public companies are trying to catch the same wave:
AST SpaceMobile (ASTS) is working on something genuinely interesting – connecting regular phones directly to satellites without special equipment. It's speculative as hell, but intriguing.
Iridium Communications (IRDM) has actually been at this for decades. Remember those massive satellite phones from the '90s? That was them. They went spectacularly bankrupt once, restructured, and now operate a stable satellite network. Not sexy, but functional.
Globalstar (GSAT) and DISH Network (DISH) are sitting on spectrum assets that could be valuable in this new space economy. But (and this is a big but) they need to figure out how to actually monetize those assets before someone else does.
The Infrastructure Play: Building Gas Stations in Space
Then there's Momentus (MNTS), which aims to provide "last-mile delivery" in space – basically a space tug service moving satellites from where rockets drop them off to their final orbits.
Clever idea. Terrible execution so far.
Having tracked this company since before its SPAC merger, I've watched it face regulatory nightmares, leadership overhauls, and endless delays. The stock price tells the story – down over 90% from its highs. Ouch.
Similar fates have befallen other space SPACs like Spire Global (SPIR) and BlackSky (BKSY). Great concepts on PowerPoint, less impressive when facing the harsh realities of quarterly earnings expectations.
Space Tourism: Joy Rides for Billionaires?
Virgin Galactic (SPCE) focuses on suborbital tourism – basically expensive up-and-down roller coaster rides that technically cross the space boundary. I actually sat in on one of their investor presentations back in 2020. The enthusiasm was infectious; the business model, less convincing.
The stock has been more volatile than the rocket rides they're selling. One announcement sends it soaring; one delay (and there have been many) sends it crashing back to Earth. Not for the faint of heart.
The Long Game: Space Resources and Manufacturing
Look, if you're really thinking long-term – and I mean really long-term – companies like Redwire (RDW) are positioning themselves for in-space manufacturing and resource utilization.
These represent the ultimate long-shot bets on a future where we're not just visiting space but actually building things up there. The kinds of companies that might one day provide the infrastructure for those Mars colonies Musk keeps promising.
The Inconvenient Truth About Space Investing
Here's the thing about space investments that most financial advisors won't tell you (or don't understand themselves): The timeframes are all wrong for public markets.
Most of these companies operate on development cycles measured in years or decades, not quarters. The capital requirements are astronomical (sorry for the pun), and the risk of catastrophic failure – both literal and financial – is ever-present.
What makes SpaceX exceptional is that Musk somehow threaded the needle – establishing a sustainable business through launch services while simultaneously pursuing moon shots like Starlink and, well, actual Moon shots.
Few public space companies have managed this balancing act. Most either play it too safe or reach too far.
The most direct SpaceX exposure in public markets is probably through Alphabet (GOOGL), which invested in SpaceX years ago. But that's such a tiny slice of Google's parent company that you'd need to squint really hard to see any impact.
The Patient Approach: Building Your Space Portfolio
For those determined to bet on the final frontier, perhaps the most sensible approach is building a diversified basket of space-related stocks. Think of it as venture capital for your brokerage account – some will flame out spectacularly, but one massive winner could make up for a lot of losers.
The space economy is projected to grow to over $1 trillion by 2040, according to Morgan Stanley's estimates. I've attended their space investment conferences for three years running, and the projections get more bullish each time.
The trillion-dollar question is whether today's public companies will be the ones capturing that value, or if they'll end up as footnotes in the history of space commercialization – the cosmic equivalent of those early automobile manufacturers nobody remembers.
As with space travel itself, the investment journey promises moments of both exhilaration and terror. Pack some Dramamine.
