Space startups in the United States
The directory tracks 104 space companies in the United States. They work on launch, Earth observation, software, communications & connectivity and more.
Updated 27 September 2026 · 31 milestones in the last 90 days · Follow by RSS
Where things stand
As of 27 September 2026
Nearly half the companies in the directory are American. Nine US companies have grown past the startup stage, most of them by going public. SpaceX listed on Nasdaq in June 2026, in the largest IPO in history. Firefly Aerospace listed in August 2025, five months after its Blue Ghost lander made the first fully successful commercial Moon landing. Hawkeye 360 listed on the New York Stock Exchange in May 2026.
Several US companies founded since 2020 flew hardware in the past year. Impulse Space brought two of its Mira vehicles within about 200 metres of each other in July 2026. K2 Space launched Gravitas, a satellite of about two tonnes, in March 2026. Starcloud put an Nvidia H100 data-centre GPU in orbit in November 2025. Katalyst Space launched LINK, its first servicing spacecraft, in July 2026. Two of its three reaction wheels then failed, and NASA and Katalyst dropped the planned capture of the Swift observatory.
Eighteen US companies have been bought. Voyager Technologies bought Astrobotic in July 2026. York Space Systems bought Solestial, and its parent company bought Atlas Space. IonQ, a quantum computing company, bought Capella Space in 2025. Six US companies have shut down and ten are dormant. Moon Express is one of the dormant ones. It has had no documented activity since November 2018, when NASA named it one of nine companies to carry payloads to the Moon.
Latest milestones
Every dated event from the companies below, newest first, each with its source.
Apex: Agrees to set up a US factory to build direct-to-device satellites for Elveo Mobile, the operator formed by the merger of Lynk Global and Omnispace
Stoke Space: Raises a $1B first close of a Series E led by Point72 Ventures and Spark Capital, taking total funding to $2.3B, with Nova's debut now early 2027
Blue Origin: NASA awards a firm-fixed-price contract worth up to $700M to build, launch and operate the Mars Telecommunications Network orbiter, due by the end of 2028
Diffraqtion: Adds more than $5M to the pre-seed from Lockheed Martin Ventures, Presidio Ventures and others, taking the total past $10M, to fly a hosted payload
Gravitics: Regulatory filings show Lockheed Martin picked it to build three orbital-carrier spacecraft for Golden Dome missile-defence demonstrations, and that it plans to go public
LEO Labs: Wins a $20.68M Space Force prototype agreement for a Scout radar, its container-sized mobile system, modified for national security use
Muon Space: Wins an $11M NOAA TMATE award to build, launch and operate a microwave sounder within 24 months
SpaceX: Announces Starbase Louisiana, a $100B Gulf Coast Starship site with five launch complexes, building from 2027 for first launches in 2029
Spire: Wins a $28M NOAA contract under TMATE to build and qualify a hyperspectral microwave sounder satellite
Ursa Major Technologies: Agrees to go public by merging with Bleichroeder Acquisition Corp. III at about $2.3B post-money, with at least $350M of committed PIPE capital and closing expected in early 2027Show 40 earlier milestones
Beyond Reach Labs: Unveils Flarewing, three fold-flat solar arrays from 30 to 625 square metres, with the smallest due to qualify by the end of 2026
Hydrosat: Selected for SpaceWERX's 2026 STRATFI cycle for its thermal-infrared satellites, pairing Space Force money with matched private capitalMuon Space: Selected for SpaceWERX's 2026 STRATFI cycle for its satellite constellations, pairing Space Force money with matched private capital
Starcloud: Adds $250M to its Series A at a $2.3B valuation, led by Manhattan West with $25M from Nvidia
ThinkOrbital: Selected for SpaceWERX's 2026 STRATFI cycle for in-space assembly, pairing Space Force money with matched private capitalMuon Space: Raises a $250M Series C led by Eclipse, with Google, Salesforce Ventures and Woven Capital among the new investors, to scale its satellite production
Katalyst Space: After two of LINK's three reaction wheels fail, NASA and Katalyst drop the Swift capture and fly the mission as a rendezvous demonstrationKatalyst Space: Chosen by the Defense Innovation Unit to develop a deorbit service for Space Development Agency satellites using NEXUS
Impulse Space: Space Force adds $28M to its contract for two more Mira vehicles, for the Victus Salo 2 and 3 responsive-space missions
Relativity Space: Engine integration milestone reached for Terran R first stage
K2 Space: Raises a $500M Series D at a $6.8B valuation, led by Kleiner Perkins and ICONIQ, with about $1B of signed contracts
Momentus: Vigoride-7 completes orbit changes with payload testing underwayBeyond Reach Labs: Raises a $10M seed led by Interlagos and moves into a 16,000 square foot factory in BrooklynUrsa Major Technologies: US Navy awards $10 million to develop the MK 104 solid motor
Astrobotic: Voyager completes its acquisition of AstroboticMuon Space: First three operational FireSat satellites reach orbit
Orbit Fab: Names Peter Shaper CEO, opens its Series B and takes more than $25M of interim financing led by Stride Capital, with its first integrated refuelling architecture due to launch in 2027Katalyst Space: LINK, its first robotic servicing spacecraft, launches on a Pegasus XL from KwajaleinImpulse Space: The Mira from LEO Express-2 closes to within about 200 metres of the Mira from LEO Express-3, and the two photograph each other
Reflect Orbital: FCC approves Eärendil-1, the first orbital sunlight-reflector demonstration satellite
Slingshot Aerospace: Wins a $69.2M Space Force contract for AI mission rehearsal, its largest award yetAstrobotic: NASA awards a $298 million order for Peregrine-2
Rocket Lab: Agrees to buy the satellite operator Iridium at $54 a share, valuing it at about $8BKatalyst Space: Raises $12M led by Geodesic Capital toward NEXUS, its first geostationary servicing mission in 2027
AstroForge: Completes the DeepSpace-2 spacecraft, 200 kg with a 50 kg payload, to ride the Falcon 9 carrying Intuitive Machines' IM-3 lander before the end of 2026Astrobotic: Voyager Technologies agrees to buy Astrobotic for about $300 million
Cemvita Factory: Completes a 75,000 litre FermOil run at a European pilot plantImpulse Space: Raises a $500M Series D led by 137 Ventures and Banner VC, taking total funding past $1B a year after the Series C
Epsilon3: Launches Epsilon3 2.0, one platform for workflows, inventory and quality across 135+ organisations
Solestial: York Space Systems completes its acquisition, paying about $67M at closingSpaceX: Lists on Nasdaq as SPCX in the largest IPO in history
Starfish Space: Otter Pup 2 reaches its new docking target and keeps flying close to itStoke Space: Completes Nova first-stage structural verification ahead of the rocket’s debutMomentus: Closes a $25 million private placement
Astrolab: NASA selects Astrolab to provide the lunar rover for Artemis astronauts’ return to the Moon
Hawkeye 360: Lists on the NYSE as HAWK, raising $416MSpire: Opens a Munich factory it says can build up to 100 satellites a yearStarfish Space: Closes a Series B of more than $100M led by Point72 Ventures to build Otters for its contracted missions
World View Enterprises: Ondas completes the acquisition of World View
Aethero: Orders the Titan mission with EnduroSat to fly its next-generation compute in October 2026Recently added
All 104 companies
Companies still operating first, then by latest news.
Apex Satellite buses off assembly lines
Stoke Space The fully reusable Nova rocket
Blue Origin GraduatedOrbital rockets and spacecraft
Diffraqtion Quantum cameras for satellites
Gravitics Space station modules as products
LEO Labs Satellite observation from Earth
Muon Space Constellations as a service
SpaceX GraduatedReusable rockets and spacecraft
Spire GraduatedSpace to cloud analytics
Ursa Major Technologies Engines for small satellites
Beyond Reach Labs Fold-flat solar arrays for big satellites
Hydrosat Plant health monitored by satellites
Starcloud Data centres in orbit
ThinkOrbital In-space welding and construction
Katalyst Space Robotic spacecraft that dock with satellites
Impulse Space Orbital transfer vehicles
Relativity Space 3D printed rockets
K2 Space Mega-class satellite buses
Momentus GraduatedIn-space flights for satellites
Orbit Fab Gas stations in space
Reflect Orbital Sunlight after dark
Slingshot Aerospace Decision intelligence technologies
Rocket Lab GraduatedSmallsat launch services
AstroForge Prospecting asteroids for platinum
Cemvita Factory Engineered microbes that eat CO2
Epsilon3 SaaS for space ops
Starfish Space Satellite servicing with Otter
Astrolab Lunar rovers for the long term
Hawkeye 360 GraduatedGlobal intelligence network
Aethero Edge AI computers for satellites
Turion Space Droid spacecraft for space awareness
Aetherflux Solar-powered GPU satellites, now Cowboy Space
Arinna Ultrathin solar for spacecraft
Vast Haven-1, a commercial space station
Akash Systems Diamond-cooled chips for space and AI
Albedo Satellites for very low Earth orbit
Astra GraduatedLow-cost orbital launches
Portal Space Systems Solar-thermal rapid-maneuver spacecraft
Bryce Space & Tech Space and technology analytics services
Firefly Aerospace GraduatedSmall-satellite launchers
Skylo Satellite IoT connectivity
First Resonance Software for aerospace manufacturing
Lux Aeterna Delphi, the reusable satellite
OrbitsEdge Computing and analytics in space
RedWorks In-situ additive construction
Interlune Helium-3 from the Moon
Ramon.Space Computing infrastructure in space
Lunar Outpost Lunar rovers and mobility
Karman+ Asteroid water for orbital refueling
Varda Space Orbital manufacturing
RoGo Fire Fighting wildfires with intelligence
Inversion Space Cargo from orbit in under an hour
Astranis Space Technologies Corp Small dedicated GEO satellites
True Anomaly Spacecraft for space security
GITAIRobots for work in space
Spaced Ventures Direct access to smart space capital
AI SpaceFactory 3D printed habitats
Array Labs 3D radar maps of the whole planet
Applied Ion Systems LLC Low cost electric propulsion systems
Tropical Weather Analytics, Inc. Hurricane and weather forecasting
EOS Data Analytics Satellite imagery analytics
Axiom Space Commercial space stations
Astralytical Space analysis and consulting
Planet GraduatedImaging services
Loft Orbital Turnkey satellite deployment
EXOS Aerospace Reusable suborbital space vehicles
AstroComm Spacecraft and ground-based hardware
Epic Aerospace Space transportation network
Invariant AI AI agents for space compliance
Stellar Amenities Designing off-world interiors
Astrobotic AcquiredSpace robotics hardware and missions
Solestial AcquiredSpace solar technology
World View Enterprises AcquiredStratospheric observation and launch services
Phase Four AcquiredCompact electric propulsion for space
BridgeSat AcquiredLaser communication terminals
Capella Space AcquiredGathering information from space
Atlas Space AcquiredSatellite communications as a service
Nanoracks AcquiredPayload deployment services
Atomos Space AcquiredIn-space transportation service
Miles Space AcquiredPropulsion and space communications
OneWeb AcquiredHigh speed internet satellite constellation
Exo-Space AcquiredEdge computing in space
Kubos AcquiredSpace grade software
Altius Space AcquiredDeveloping rendezvous and capture technology
Because Learning AcquiredSTEM missions to space
Accion Systems AcquiredSatellite propulsion
Made In Space AcquiredIn-space manufacturing
Space Angels AcquiredSpace investment network
Analytical Space DormantHigh-speed data connection
Exodus Space Corp DormantReusable horizontal space vehicles
Stofiel Aerospace DormantSmallsat balloon launch service
Additive Rocket Corporation Dormant3D printing rocket engines
Moon Express DormantLunar robotic spacecraft
SpaceVR DormantSharing the overview effect
Gateway Galactic DormantLEO orbital propellant depot
Southern Stars DormantCubesat services and tracking software
Abstract Assembly Dormant3D cubesat models powered by AI
Eclipse Orbital DormantAffordable cube-sat launch service
Utowave Shut downInternet constellation
Leo Aerospace Shut downHigh altitude smallsat launcher
Gold Orbit Shut downShielding technology for modern spacecraft
Bagaveev Shut down3D printed rocket engines
Vector Launch Shut downAffordable space access
Audacy Shut downAnytime and seamless space connectivity
How many space startups are there in the United States?
Space Bandits tracks 104 space companies in the United States. Of those, 61 are active startups, and 9 have grown past the startup stage.
What do space startups in the United States work on?
The biggest groups are launch (15), Earth observation (10) and software (9), out of 20 sectors in all.
What is the latest news from space startups in the United States?
The most recent milestone on record is from Apex, dated 14 September 2026: "Agrees to set up a US factory to build direct-to-device satellites for Elveo Mobile, the operator formed by the merger of Lynk Global and Omnispace."
How many space startups in the United States have shut down?
6 of the 104 have shut down, and 10 more are dormant, with no public activity for years. The graveyard records how each one ended.
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