Investing in Space: Space IPOs are rearing their heads again

It's a brave idiosyncratic who calls a marketplace closed oregon open, peculiarly for listings — you'll forgive maine if I'm not the 1 to marque that plunge. But the gentle trickle of abstraction IPOs since the commencement of the year, aft a dearth of listings successful caller years, isn't going unnoticed.

Trive Capital-backed Karman Holdings, shaper of defence and abstraction systems, went nationalist backmost successful February with a valuation of astir $4 cardinal arsenic shares soared during their debut. Voyager Technologies clinched a $3.8 cardinal valuation 2 months ago, arsenic the defence and abstraction company's stock opened 125% higher connected Wednesday at $69.75 apiece, supra its $31 connection price.

On Thursday, Northrop Grumman-backed Firefly Aerospace — whose Blue Ghost lander successfully touched down connected the Moon earlier this twelvemonth — surged successful its Nasdaq debut nether the ticker awesome FLY.

This mightiness look similar a tiny measurement for immoderate industries, but it's a elephantine leap for accepted offerings for the abstraction sector, wherever for immoderate clip players specified as Intuitive Machines, Rocket Lab and AST SpaceMobile listed by mode of mergers with special-purpose acquisition companies (SPAC)  — ammunition firms that excavation their IPO proceeds to consolidate with a backstage institution and instrumentality it public, bypassing immoderate of the emblematic regulatory scrutiny. SPAC deals seemed connected the diminution aft an archetypal 2020-2021 flurry, but are trending erstwhile much Stateside. To that end, reusable rocket shaper Innovative Rocket Technologies has said it volition spell nationalist done a $400 cardinal merger with BPGC Acquisition, a SPAC backed by erstwhile U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross.

The broader IPO scenery has been successful flux. EY recovered that the planetary listings marketplace "demonstrated resilience" successful first-half 2025, with China present accounting for one-third of planetary IPO proceeds, portion the U.S. led the battalion with 109 IPOs and its strongest January-June show since the peaks of 2021.

But caller geopolitical volatility triggered by the struggle successful the Middle East and by Washington's protectionist commercialized policies person formed a shadiness implicit planetary appetite for dealmaking and going public, bankers person mentioned anecdotally. For its part, U.S. abstraction probe and tech-oriented M&A picked up to 4 deals totalling $280 cardinal successful the 2nd quarter, according to Dealogic information shared with CNBC.

"A planetary IPO marketplace rebound hinges connected much cooperative commercialized frameworks, accommodative monetary policy, controlled ostentation and geopolitical de-escalation," EY noted. "Companies aligned with nationalist priorities and innovation, and those capable to contiguous a credible equity communicative with realistic valuations and flexible timing, are apt to win successful navigating this analyzable environment." 

Space companies, by definition, tick astatine slightest immoderate of those boxes.

Lukas Muehlbauer, probe expert astatine IPOX, qualified this is "definitely a bully clip for Space IPOs," with initiatives similar the U.S.' propulsion for the Golden Dome rocket interception strategy fueling precocious valuations.

"American abstraction companies are well-insulated from tariffs connected the gross side, particularly erstwhile predictable income streams are provided by U.S. Government contracts - a communal diagnostic for defense-adjacent firms," helium told CNBC by email. "Still, astir firms successful the assemblage are babelike connected foreign-made outer components, creating a vulnerability to outgo increases and deployment delays caused by commercialized disputes." 

He nevertheless warned that the "intensifying" contention successful the backstage motorboat marketplace — wherever companies are looking to trim costs, peculiarly by deploying reusable tech and infrastructure — could make "downward unit connected costs."

"This volition beryllium a cardinal origin successful lowering the sector's precocious introduction barriers, making a caller procreation of space-based concern models commercially feasible," Muehlbauer noted.

The timing is besides ripe, with abstraction ventures generating a just spot of hype implicit their maturation potential. Last month, a study from Seraphim Space recovered concern successful abstraction startups soared to $3.1 cardinal implicit the April-June period, up sharply from $2.1 cardinal implicit the January-March stretch. 

"Investors recognize the risks successful this sector, but they besides recognize the standard of what is being built. These companies are not being valued connected near-term currency flow, but connected their quality to present semipermanent strategical infrastructure," Cristiano Dalla Bona, who heads North America ECM investigation astatine Mergermarket, said successful emailed comments. "What we are seeing present is an enthusiastic nationalist capitalist base. Still, the credibility and visibility connected maturation of each caller campaigner volition apt beryllium scrutinized."

The assemblage has besides been firmly successful the nationalist eye, with headlines ranging from NASA layoffs, Elon Musk's vocal engagement with — and aboriginal explosive exit from — the White House and Trump's propulsion for the Golden Dome rocket interception system. And, talking astir going  public, NASA's adjacent infiltrated civilian households and began streaming connected Netflix this summertime with the caller unrecorded broadcast of the SpaceX Crew-11 launch.

SpaceX delivers Crew-11 to the ISS — A four-person astronaut squad reached the International Space Station pursuing a 15-hour flight. — Sky News

Air leak continues successful Russia's ISS module — Despite efforts to rein successful losses, the Russian conception of the International Space Station is inactive suffering from aerial leaks, which were archetypal detected successful 2019. — The Register

First quantum machine launched successful space — A outer carrying a tiny quantum machine entered orbit successful precocious June, with its hardware present operational and demonstrations of its capabilities pending. — Science News

Why NASA volition plunge the International Space Station successful the water successful 2031 — NASA is readying the controlled deorbit of the International Space Station successful the distant Point Nemo portion of the Pacific Ocean, aft astir 3 decades of the abstraction lab's service. The Times of India explores why. — Times of India

Roscosmos, NASA widen ISS operations until 2028 — The heads of Roscosmos and NASA person agreed to further the 2 agencies' practice connected operating the International Space Station until 2028. Relations betwixt the 2 abstraction agencies and betwixt Washington and Moscow much broadly person been strained successful caller years by Russia's warfare successful Ukraine. — France24

Rheinmetall and Lockheed Martin transportation retired GMARS artillery strategy tests — Rheinmetall and Lockheed Martin's Global Mobile Artillery Rocket System (GMARS), which is compatible with NASA's M270 and HIMARS, is undertaking tests successful the U.S. — Defence Industry Europe

Japan wants to acceptable up planetary regularisation for abstraction debris removal — Tokyo is looking to found planetary rules for the removal of human-made abstraction debris that tin airs risks, with an oculus to pb discussions by the clip of the 2026 gathering of the U.N. Committee connected the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space, officials person said. — Kyodo News

Israel sets up caller inaugural for abstraction tech development — Israel is launching a NIS 40 cardinal ($11.73 million) programme for start-ups and established firms to boost home advances successful abstraction tech and research. — The Jerusalem Post

Lockheed Martin looks to trial space-based rocket interceptors by 2028 — Lockheed Martin has acceptable a 2928 deadline to demo a abstraction interceptor capable of targeting hypersonic rocket — a cardinal constituent of the projected Golden Dome anti-missile system. — SOFX

NASA to acceptable timeline for atomic reactor connected the Moon — NASA interim caput Sean Duffy volition acceptable retired a 2030 deadline for the abstraction bureau to found a 100-kilowatt atomic reactor connected the Moon, Politico has learned. — Politico

Firefly Aerospace rises much than 30% successful Nasdaq debut – Firefly Aerospace's banal added much than 34% successful the company's debut nether the ticker FLY. - CNBC

Space institution listings are bucking the trend — Some manufacture voices assertion the spate of abstraction companies that person gone nationalist oregon mean to bash truthful people an outlier, alternatively than a broader movement. — Space News

Eutelsat posts gross surge, forecasts GEO decline — French outer relation Eutelsat bushed expectations successful yearly results to the extremity of June, with revenues up 84%. The institution nevertheless flagged a 7% driblet successful geostationary revenues implicit the period. — Space News

Vaya Space clinches $1.2 cardinal hypersonic propulsion contract — Vaya Space has secured a $1.24 cardinal declaration toward the improvement of the Hybrid-Fueled Ramjet hypersonic rocket propulsion system. — SatNews

Voyager Technologies posts archetypal net aft IPO — Voyager Technologies reported a worse-than-expected nonaccomplishment of $0.60 per stock successful its second-quarter results, contempt revenues exceeding forecasts. — The Motley Fool

Aug. 8 — SpaceX Crew-10 to instrumentality to Earth from the International Space Station aboard the Dragon Endurance

Aug. 9 — SpaceX's Falcon 9 to motorboat with Starlink satellites retired of California

Aug. 12 — United Launch Alliance's Vulcan Centaur to depart connected the United States Space Force (USSF)-106 ngo retired of Florida

Aug. 12-13 — Arianespace's Ariane 6 to instrumentality disconnected with the European Organization for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites' MetOp-SG A1 retired of the French Guiana

Aug. 13-14 — SpaceX's Falcon 9 rockets caput retired with Starlink satellites retired of Florida and California