Space Markets

Investment, funding rounds, public markets, venture capital, and economic analysis of the space economy.

• Cowboy Space Targets 2028 Debut for Big Iron Rocket and 20 GW Orbital Computing Network

  October 27, 2026

  Cowboy Space Corp., the space infrastructure startup founded by Robinhood co-founder Baiju Bhatt, has unveiled its Big Iron rocket, Clydesdale engine and plans for a massive orbital AI computing network called Stampede, targeting a first launch in 2028. The announcements lay out a vertically integrated strategy to build nearly every component of an orbital computing business in-house, from rocket engines and reusable launch vehicles to satellites and dedicated launch infrastructure. The company

• NASA Ends 22-Year Swift Mission After Private Rescue Spacecraft Fails to Boost Orbit

  October 26, 2026

  NASA has officially ended the mission of its Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory after a private spacecraft failed in its attempt to raise the aging telescope's orbit. The agency announced the conclusion on Friday, October 23, stating that Swift is expected to reenter Earth's atmosphere "in the next few weeks." NASA had hoped to extend Swift's life. In September 2025, the agency awarded a $30 million contract to the Arizona company Katalyst Space Technologies to rescue the observatory, which was fal

• Pentagon Backs Stoke Space With $150 Million Loan for Second Cape Canaveral Launchpad

  October 26, 2026

  The Department of War's Office of Strategic Capital announced a $150 million conditional loan commitment with Stoke Space Technologies on October 26, 2026, to fund a second launchpad at the company's Cape Canaveral Space Force Station complex. The financing, paired with private capital, is aimed at expanding U.S. launch capacity to meet rising commercial and national security demand. The commitment supports the buildout of launch infrastructure at a time when the United States Space Force requi

• Apex in Talks for $500 Million Raise at $4 Billion Valuation to Scale Satellite Bus Production

  October 26, 2026

  Satellite bus manufacturer Apex entered discussions on Thursday, October 22, 2026, to raise approximately $500 million in a new funding round valuing the company at roughly $4 billion. The capital would accelerate high-volume production of standardized orbital buses for commercial and national security constellations, marking a sharp valuation step up for the Los Angeles company. The talks follow four months after Apex secured $200 million at a $2.3 billion valuation in June. That trajectory re

• SpaceX Closes $40 Billion Debt Deal to Buy AI Chips

  October 26, 2026

  SpaceX has closed $40 billion in debt financing to purchase graphics processing units that power artificial intelligence systems, Elon Musk said in a post on X on Sunday. The chips are expected to arrive in the first and second quarters of 2027. Musk said SpaceX is investment grade and generates revenue from its Starlink satellite internet and rocket launch businesses. In a follow-up post, he said the financing consisted primarily of callable debt for graphics processing units. SpaceX had previ

• DoD Awards Orbital Operations Up to $35M for Cryogenic Space Maneuver Demo

  October 23, 2026

  Orbital Operations has won up to $35 million from the Department of Defense under a prototype Other Transaction Agreement to fly a full-scale, in-orbit demonstration of Astraeus, its cryogenic-maneuvering vehicle. The Long Beach, California startup also closed a $7 million seed extension, signaling momentum toward a first flight of a reusable vehicle designed to transport payloads across orbits. CEO and cofounder Ben Schleuniger likens Astraeus to the Lockheed C-130 Hercules, which for decades

• Momentus Wins NASA Formulation Task Order for Robotic Resupply Mission

  October 22, 2026

  Momentus has been awarded a task order by NASA for the formulation phase of the agency's Fly Foundational Robots (FFR) Resupply mission, a demonstration effort aimed at advancing in-space servicing, assembly, and manufacturing technologies. The San Jose company is one of two participants selected to develop the mission concept, positioning it to compete for the eventual flight. NASA's FFR technology demonstration missions are designed to accelerate the development of space robotics through freq

• Xona Raises $250M Series D to Scale Pulsar Commercial GPS Constellation

  October 22, 2026

  Xona Space Systems closed a $250M Series D on October 22 to accelerate production of its Pulsar commercial GPS constellation, which aims to begin service in 2027. The round valued the company at $2.45B and brings Xona's total fundraising to more than $570M since its founding in 2019. Xona's long-term plan is to build a constellation of roughly 258 satellites to offer a commercial alternative to government GPS networks. The company argues that publicly funded GPS systems are costly, complex, and

• BlackSky Doubles International Partner's Gen-3 Assured Subscription in Under Six Months

  October 22, 2026

  BlackSky Technology has won an expanded seven-figure Gen-3 Assured contract with an international defense partner, doubling the customer's subscription in less than six months. The deal reflects accelerating demand for the company's real-time intelligence service in one of the world's most demanding and contested regions. The engagement began as a small Gen-2 pilot that grew into a large annual Gen-3 Assured subscription, delivering committed tasking and predictable collection continuity over t

• NASA Backs AstraQua's Robot Self-Awareness Tech With $1.27 Million Contract

  October 21, 2026

  NASA has awarded AstraQua Inc. a $1,274,990 Phase II contract to advance its AstraSense technology for electric and hybrid-electric aircraft, including advanced air mobility applications. The award supports AstraQua's effort to give autonomous systems predictive health and operational self-awareness, a capability the company describes as teaching robots to feel pain. The Phase II work builds on earlier demonstrations delivered to NASA. In Phase I, AstraQua showed real-time diagnostics and predi

• NASA to Evaluate Planet's Tanager Hyperspectral Data for Earth Science Use

  October 21, 2026

  Planet Labs PBC has won an evaluation task order under NASA's Commercial Satellite Data Acquisition program, placing its Tanager hyperspectral dataset under formal assessment for the agency's Earth science work. The deal, awarded to subsidiary Planet Labs Federal, will test the data's quality, reliability, and utility and could open a path to making Tanager data available to the federally funded scientific community. The award follows the launch of Tanager-2 on October 1, 2026. Within a week of

• Firefly Clears Preliminary Design Review for Elytra Spacecraft Carrying NASA's MoonFall Lunar Drones

  October 21, 2026

  Firefly Aerospace has completed the preliminary design review for its Elytra spacecraft, the vehicle that will deliver drones built by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory to the Moon's south pole for the agency's MoonFall mission. The company confirmed the milestone on October 21, less than four months after its contract award, clearing the design to advance toward hardware production. The review brought together members from Firefly, NASA, and JPL to assess Elytra's design against mission require