Space stopped being a government-only game years ago. It’s now a real, investable industry – satellites beaming broadband to ships and planes, earth-imaging companies selling data to farms and defense contractors, and launch providers racing to put more payloads into orbit than ever before.

SpaceX’s record-breaking IPO has pulled a lot of new eyes into the sector this year. And the follow-up question a lot of investors are now asking is a smart one: what are the best space stocks to buy now if you want exposure without betting everything on a single name?

This piece walks through what space stocks actually are, the strongest names heading into the second half of 2026, how to buy them, and which space ETF options let you spread the risk rather than pick individual winners.

What Are Space Stocks?

Space stocks are shares in companies that build, launch, or operate within orbital infrastructure – rockets, satellites, ground equipment, or the data and connectivity those systems generate. The category isn’t new; defense primes like Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman have been flying space hardware for the U.S. government for decades. What’s changed is the commercial layer stacked on top – companies now selling broadband, imagery, and launch services directly to businesses and consumers, not just to NASA or the Pentagon.

The opportunity here is structural. Commercial space backlog has crossed $500 billion, and that number keeps climbing as satellite operators lock in multi-year contracts with insurers, farms, telecoms, and militaries. Compared to AI stocks – which dominate headlines and trade at eye-watering multiples on the promise of future cash flows – space stocks are a smaller, scrappier corner of the market. But they’re increasingly tied to the same infrastructure story, since satellites are now being floated as literal real estate for AI compute.

The Best Space Stocks to Buy in 2026

The space sector has never had more publicly traded names worth paying attention to – and the SpaceX IPO has only accelerated that conversation. But not every space stock is built the same way. Some are pure-play growth bets riding next-generation technology with no profits yet. Others are decades-old defense primes that happen to build satellites on the side. And a few sit somewhere in between, pivoting from launch providers into full-stack space platforms.

The listed stocks below cover that full spectrum – from high-risk, high-upside plays to steadier, dividend-paying anchors. Understanding what each company actually does, and where it sits on the risk curve, is the starting point for figuring out which ones belong in your portfolio.

Rocket Lab (RKLB)

Rocket Lab built its name on the Electron rocket, launching small satellites with a reliability and cadence that no competitor at that size could match. Now it’s making a much bigger move.

Rocket Lab recently announced an $8 billion acquisition of Iridium Communications – a cash-and-stock deal that gives it a profitable, recurring-revenue satellite network with over 2.55 million subscribers across government, defense, aviation, and maritime markets. That’s a major strategic shift: instead of being purely a launch provider, Rocket Lab is building toward being a vertically integrated space platform with real cash flow attached.

As of July 1, RKLB is trading around $104, with a market cap of approximately $60 billion and a 52-week range between $33.73 and $151.00 – a range that tells you everything you need to know about the volatility here. Wall Street is broadly bullish, with 14 buy ratings, 4 holds, and zero sells from analysts covering the stock. RKLB trades on the NASDAQ.

AST SpaceMobile (ASTS)

AST SpaceMobile is trying to do something genuinely novel: build a satellite network that connects directly to ordinary smartphones – no special hardware, no satellite phone, just your existing device. If it works at scale, the addressable market is essentially every person on earth who’s ever had a dropped call.

ASTS is currently trading around $86, with a market cap near $33 billion and a 52-week range of $36.08 to $133.86 – that range alone captures the risk profile. The space company has confirmed that three of its latest BlueBird satellites are now active in orbit, with another batch of three scheduled for a Cape Canaveral launch before August ends. Production is now running through BlueBird 37, and AST SpaceMobile is targeting roughly 45 satellites in orbit by year-end. It’s pre-profitable, volatile, and one of the most closely watched high-upside names in the whole sector. ASTS trades on the NASDAQ.

Planet Labs (PL)

Planet Labs runs the largest fleet of Earth-imaging satellites in the world, founded in 2010 by three former NASA scientists. It’s less flashy than ASTS or RKLB – it doesn’t launch rockets or pitch dead-zone elimination – but it has something most space stocks don’t: customers who actually need what it sells right now.

The company posted record annual revenue of $308 million, with contracted backlog up 79% year-over-year to more than $900 million. Planet Labs stock is up 37% year to date, and it’s a major holding across multiple space ETFs precisely because daily satellite imagery has become critical infrastructure for agriculture, defense, and disaster response. PL is currently trading around $29 on the NYSE.

Lockheed Martin (LMT)

Lockheed is the closest thing to a “safe” space stock on this list. Its space division builds GPS III satellites, the Orion crew capsule for NASA’s Artemis program, and missile warning systems – all backed by one of the largest defense balance sheets in the world. You won’t get explosive upside here, but you get steady, diversified exposure to government space spending without the volatility that comes with the pure-play names. LMT trades on the NYSE.

Northrop Grumman (NOC)

Northrop is best known in space circles as the prime contractor behind the James Webb Space Telescope, alongside solid rocket motor production and space logistics vehicles. Like Lockheed, it’s a defense prime rather than a growth story – but it offers reliable exposure to long-cycle government space contracts for investors who want the sector without the wild price swings. NOC trades on the NYSE.

How to Buy Space Stocks

1. Pick a brokerage. Robinhood, Fidelity, Schwab, and most major platforms support all the tickers above.
2. Search the ticker. RKLB, ASTS, PL, LMT, and NOC all trade on major U.S. exchanges.
3. Decide between individual stocks and an ETF. If you want concentrated exposure to one company’s story, buy the stock. If you’d rather spread the risk, a space ETF might be a better fit – more on that below.
4. Place your order. Use a limit order on the volatile, smaller names like RKLB and ASTS – both have moved by double digits in single weeks this year.
5. Size around the volatility. These aren’t slow-moving blue chips. Plan for swings, especially around earnings or launch milestones.

Pros and Cons of Space Stocks

Pros:

• Real, growing revenue backlog across the sector – commercial space backlog has crossed $500 billion industry-wide.
• Genuine technological differentiation in names like AST SpaceMobile and Rocket Lab that competitors can’t easily replicate.
• Diversification away from AI/tech concentration for investors already heavy in that space.
• Long-term secular growth as satellite broadband and earth imaging become standard infrastructure globally.

Cons:

• Extreme volatility – Rocket Lab fell 44% over a single month, before recovering on the Iridium news, while Planet Labs and AST SpaceMobile each dropped roughly 45% over the same window,
• Many of the smaller players, including RKLB and ASTS, are not yet consistently profitable.
• The sector is sensitive to expensive, failure-prone hardware milestones – a bad rocket test can wipe out months of gains overnight.
• Legacy defense names like Lockheed and Northrop offer safety but limited upside compared to the pure-play space names.

Space ETFs: The Diversified Route

ETFs pool investor money to buy a basket of stocks, trading on an exchange just like an individual stock. They exist precisely to solve the problem this sector creates – picking individual space stocks means accepting concentrated, single-company risk. The SPAC wave of 2021 taught investors a painful lesson about that when names like Astra and Momentus lost 80–90% of their value.

A few options stand out for 2026:

Procure Space ETF (UFO) is the most concentrated pure-play option, weighting satellite operators and launch companies heavily – including Rocket Lab and AST SpaceMobile.

ARK Space Exploration & Innovation ETF (ARKX) takes an actively managed approach under Cathie Wood’s team, mixing space names with broader “space-adjacent” robotics and data plays, though its returns have generally lagged the more concentrated pure-play funds.

For investors who want defense-anchored stability blended in, iShares Aerospace & Defense (ITA) and SPDR S&P Kensho Final Frontiers (ROKT) combine primes like Lockheed and Northrop with smaller space names – trading steadier growth for lower volatility.

Bottom Line

SpaceX may be grabbing the headlines, but it’s far from the only way to play the space economy. Rocket Lab’s Iridium acquisition gives it real cash flow and changes its investment story considerably. AST SpaceMobile is building satellite coverage for smartphones at a pace that’s hard to dismiss. Planet Labs has the recurring revenue to back up its valuation. And Lockheed and Northrop offer calmer, defense-backed exposure for investors who can’t stomach the swings in the smaller names.

Whichever route you choose, go in expecting volatility. This is still a fast-moving, early-stage industry – and that’s exactly what makes it interesting.

FAQs

What are the best space stocks right now?

Rocket Lab (RKLB) and AST SpaceMobile (ASTS) for growth and upside, Planet Labs (PL) for earth-imaging data revenue, and Lockheed Martin (LMT) or Northrop Grumman (NOC) for steadier, defense-backed exposure.

Which space companies are publicly traded?

Rocket Lab, AST SpaceMobile, Planet Labs, Lockheed Martin, and Northrop Grumman are all publicly traded. SpaceX joined them in June 2026 after its IPO.

Are space stocks worth investing in?

For investors comfortable with volatility, yes – the sector has real and growing revenue backlog and genuine technological progress. For risk-averse investors, the swings in smaller names can be brutal, and an ETF may be a smarter fit than picking individual stocks.

Is Rocket Lab a good investment in 2026?

It has strong momentum, a fresh $8 billion Iridium acquisition that brings real cash flow, and broad analyst support. But the stock has also been extremely volatile, swinging 40-50% in both directions within months. How much volatility you can stomach will ultimately shape whether RKLB belongs in your portfolio.

What space ETFs can I buy? If you want the most direct exposure to satellite and launch companies, the Procure Space ETF (UFO) is the obvious starting point. Investors who prefer active management can look at the ARK Space Exploration & Innovation ETF (ARKX), while those who want a steadier blend of defense primes and space names will find iShares Aerospace & Defense (ITA) and SPDR S&P Kensho Final Frontiers (ROKT) more comfortable fits.

Benzinga Disclaimer: This article is from an unpaid external contributor. It does not represent Benzinga’s reporting and has not been edited for content or accuracy.