The best habitat space startups
6 habitats companies in the directory, ranked by disclosed funding ($1.4B raised between them), spanning 2 countries.
Somewhere to live and work once you arrive. Commercial stations positioning themselves to succeed the ISS, modules manufactured like products instead of one-offs, 3D printed structures for planetary surfaces, and the interiors people will actually spend months inside.
Updated 27 September 2026 · 4 milestones in the last 90 days · Follow by RSS
State of the sector
As of 27 September 2026
Two companies here are building commercial space stations: Axiom Space and Vast. Gravitics builds station modules as products. AI SpaceFactory and Stellar Amenities work on what those places are like to live in, from 3D printed structures to interiors. The Exploration Company's Nyx capsule is meant to carry cargo to stations and, later, crew.
Vast flew Haven Demo, an uncrewed pathfinder, in November 2025 and brought it down on purpose in February 2026. Haven-1 itself is now due no earlier than 2027. In August 2026, filings showed Lockheed Martin had picked Gravitics to build three orbital carrier spacecraft for missile-defence demonstrations.
The Exploration Company tested Nyx's parachutes with a drop over the Mojave in May 2026. In September ESA hired it to fly cargo to the International Space Station by mid-2029.
Latest milestones
Every dated event from the companies below, newest first, each with its source.
The Exploration Company: ESA awards a €760M ALADDIN contract for a Nyx cargo demonstration to the ISS by mid-2029, €310M firm and €450M in options for two more missionsThe Exploration Company: Books an Ariane 6 with Arianespace for the Nyx demonstration mission to the ISSThe Exploration Company: Raises a $450M Series C led by Bessemer, Atomico and the Scaleup Europe Fund, taking total funding to about $680M
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 publicThe Exploration Company: Acquires European Astrotech, a UK propulsion-services firm at Westcott that fuels spacecraft and supports Nyx propulsion workThe Exploration Company: Drops a Nyx test vehicle from 2.8 km over the Mojave; the drogue-to-main parachute handover works as planned
Vast: Raises $500M, a $300M Series A plus debt, led by Balerion Space VenturesVast: Completes the Haven Demo mission with a controlled deorbit into the South PacificVast: Haven Demo, an uncrewed pathfinder, flies on Bandwagon-4 to validate Haven-1 systemsThe Exploration Company: Nyx demonstrator Mission Possible survives reentry but is lost minutes before splashdown; declared a partial successShow 9 earlier milestones
Gravitics: US Space Force STRATFI worth up to $60M to demonstrate the Orbital CarrierThe Exploration Company: Nyx Bikini, its reentry demonstrator, flies on Ariane 6's first launch but is never released after an upper-stage faultGravitics: Books a $125M order from Axiom Space for a station module
AI SpaceFactory: Relocates to Huntsville, Alabama, closer to the space and defence industryVast: Announces Haven-1, a single-module commercial station, and a crewed Vast-1 visit on DragonAI SpaceFactory: Turner Construction partners to bring the basalt-composite printing tech to terrestrial buildingAI SpaceFactory: Releases LINA lunar outpost designs with NASA Kennedy Space Center under a REACT collaboration
Axiom Space: Ax-1, the first all-private astronaut mission, docks with the ISS for a 17-day stayAI SpaceFactory: MARSHA wins NASA’s 3D-Printed Habitat Challenge, printed in thirty hours from basalt-fibre biopolymerAll 6 habitat companies
Ranked by disclosed funding.
How many habitats space startups are there in 2026?
Space Bandits tracks 6 habitats companies, 6 of them active, with $1.4B in disclosed funding between them.
What is the latest news from habitats startups?
The most recent milestone on record is from The Exploration Company, dated 10 September 2026: "ESA awards a €760M ALADDIN contract for a Nyx cargo demonstration to the ISS by mid-2029, €310M firm and €450M in options for two more missions."
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