--- title: "Space Stocks Are Not Just About SpaceX" type: "News" locale: "en" url: "https://longbridge.com/en/news/288858150.md" description: "Beyond SpaceX, Rocket Lab is emerging as a more resilient space-themed stock, with annual revenue exceeding $600 million and a backlog of $2.2 billion. It aims to narrow the cost gap with SpaceX this year through its Neutron medium-lift rocket. Meanwhile, small satellite operators like AST SpaceMobile, facing pressure from giants, are seeing their spectrum assets become key drivers of merger and acquisition value" datetime: "2026-06-05T11:59:43.000Z" locales: - [zh-CN](https://longbridge.com/zh-CN/news/288858150.md) - [en](https://longbridge.com/en/news/288858150.md) - [zh-HK](https://longbridge.com/zh-HK/news/288858150.md) --- # Space Stocks Are Not Just About SpaceX SpaceX's impending public listing is set to open the largest channel for investors to access the space economy, but in this cosmic race, the listed investment opportunities worth watching extend far beyond it. Rocket Lab, listed on Nasdaq, saw its revenue grow 38% year-over-year last year to over $600 million. By the end of the first quarter of this year, its revenue backlog reached $2.2 billion, with more than 70 launch orders pending. In March, the company signed a $190 million contract with the U.S. Department of Defense and is participating in the construction of the "Golden Dome" space-based missile defense system. As the militarization of space deepens and the concept of space-based AI data centers gains traction, this backlog is expected to expand further. From a valuation perspective, Rocket Lab's stock has risen more than 50% so far this year. Calculated by price-to-sales ratio, it is roughly equivalent to SpaceX's target valuation and is not cheap. However, achieving high-speed growth from an annual revenue base of over $600 million is far more feasible than for SpaceX to maintain the same pace on a much larger base. For investors looking to participate in the space economy without betting entirely on SpaceX, this offers a relatively more resilient entry point. In addition to Rocket Lab, satellite communication operators such as AST SpaceMobile, Viasat, and Iridium have their own growth logics. However, facing dual pressure from SpaceX and Amazon, the spectrum assets held by smaller operators may become their ultimate source of value—a logic already validated by Amazon's acquisition of Globalstar in April this year due to spectrum considerations. ## Neutron Medium-Lift Rocket: Narrowing the Cost Gap with SpaceX Sending cargo into Earth orbit is itself an extremely high technical barrier. Few companies globally possess this capability. From Virgin Orbital to Astra, many listed companies have failed in their attempts at orbital launches; Blue Origin, under Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, has also experienced significant setbacks in this field. Founded in New Zealand and now headquartered in California, Rocket Lab has successfully completed 88 small-payload rocket launches, primarily delivering cargo to low Earth orbit, with only four failures, the most recent occurring in 2023. This success rate is unique among comparable listed companies and serves as the core foundation for winning the trust of defense clients. The company is led by self-taught engineer Peter Beck. Rocket Lab is not content to remain confined to the small-payload market. **The company plans to launch its Neutron medium-lift rocket for the first time this year, with a maximum payload capacity of 13 metric tons and a launch cost of approximately $4,000 per kilogram, roughly on par with certain versions of SpaceX's Falcon 9.** In comparison, SpaceX's Falcon Heavy can deliver nearly 64 metric tons of cargo to low Earth orbit, at a cost of approximately $1,500 per kilogram. While Neutron's entry is not yet enough to shake SpaceX's scale advantage, it will enable Rocket Lab to compete with the latter in a broader range of mission types. Chief Financial Officer Adam Spice stated that if the industrialization of space AI accelerates, demand for greater lift capacity will further increase, at which point the company could consider developing larger rockets to move closer to SpaceX's capabilities. ## Dual Drivers of Defense Orders and AI Layout Expand Backlog Rocket Lab's core appeal to defense clients lies in its flexibility. Small rockets offer high mobility, meeting the military's need for rapid deployment of reconnaissance satellites into orbit on demand, while military clients are often unwilling to share SpaceX's launch resources with other commercial users. In March this year, the company won a $190 million Pentagon contract to test hypersonic flight conditions using its Electron rocket; simultaneously, it is collaborating with defense contractor RTX on the U.S. "Golden Dome" project. Peter Beck stated during last month's quarterly earnings analyst conference call that the launch backlog had exceeded 70 missions. In the data center sector, Rocket Lab is also making strategic moves. Spice indicated that the company intends to deeply advance its vertical integration strategy. "We would rather build data centers in orbit ourselves and then lease capacity to customers, rather than merely building facilities for customers," he said. Rocket Lab's stock is not cheap. With a gain of over 50% this year, its price-to-sales ratio is already comparable to SpaceX's target valuation, reflecting a considerable degree of optimistic expectations. However, the key difference lies in the starting point. Rocket Lab is growing from a smaller revenue base, requiring a much smaller absolute increment than SpaceX needs to achieve the same task at its scale. In other words, it is easier for Rocket Lab to "grow into" its current high valuation, whereas SpaceX must maintain a faster growth rate to sustain market acceptance of its pricing. ## Other Space-Themed Stocks: Spectrum Assets May Become M&A Trump Cards The investment logic for other listed space companies is more divergent. The market prospects for Intuitive Machines, a specialist in lunar exploration, remain unclear; satellite communication operators like AST SpaceMobile, Viasat, and Iridium have clearer growth drivers—including space-based mobile voice connectivity and, in Iridium's case, IoT satellite connectivity services—but competition in their sector is becoming increasingly fierce. According to estimates by New Street Research, **satellite operators generated a combined revenue of $24 billion last year, a figure expected to continue rising in the coming years,** although it may not reach the $1.6 trillion potential market size cited by SpaceX in its recent IPO filings. Currently, SpaceX's Starlink occupies about half the market; Amazon is also accelerating its layout through its subsidiary Amazon Leo, poised to become another well-funded competitor. However, smaller operators still hold a trump card: spectrum assets, which are exclusive rights to transmit data and voice in specific frequency bands. In April this year, Amazon announced the acquisition of satellite operator Globalstar, explicitly citing its satellite network and spectrum assets as the primary attraction. This precedent suggests that even if small operators struggle to independently establish robust businesses, the value of their spectrum may provide investors with an exit path via M&A premiums. SpaceX may be the synonym for the space economy in the minds of most investors, but the investment opportunities in the space sector extend far beyond it. ### Related Stocks - [SPCX.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/SPCX.US.md) - [SATS.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/SATS.US.md) - [DXYZ.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/DXYZ.US.md) - [PL.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/PL.US.md) - [ASTS.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/ASTS.US.md) - [VCX.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/VCX.US.md) - [ASTX.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/ASTX.US.md) - [XAR.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/XAR.US.md) - [ARKX.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/ARKX.US.md) - [ITA.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/ITA.US.md) - [RKLX.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/RKLX.US.md) - [PPA.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/PPA.US.md) - [RKLB.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/RKLB.US.md) - [VSAT.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/VSAT.US.md) - [IRDM.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/IRDM.US.md) - [AMZN.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/AMZN.US.md) - [GSAT.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/GSAT.US.md) - [RTX.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/RTX.US.md) - [LUNR.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/LUNR.US.md) - [LUNRW.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/LUNRW.US.md) ## Related News & Research - [Starlink Sits at the Heart of SpaceX’s $1.75 Trillion IPO Challenge](https://longbridge.com/en/news/288267968.md) - [Here's how SpaceX is pitching its IPO to everyday investors](https://longbridge.com/en/news/288752736.md) - [This Is SpaceX's Biggest Market, and It Might Surprise You (Spoiler Alert: It Has Nothing to Do With Space)](https://longbridge.com/en/news/288140563.md) - [Impulse Space raises $500 million at $4.26 billion valuation as space investing surges](https://longbridge.com/en/news/288419772.md) - [Rocket Lab Is Down 24% From Its 52-Week High—Pullback or Problem?](https://longbridge.com/en/news/288748295.md)