The best launch space startups
41 launch companies in the directory, ranked by disclosed funding ($7.1B raised between them), spanning 10 countries.
Companies that build rockets and the places they fly from: small launchers, reusable boosters, balloon and sea-launch systems, and commercial spaceports.
Updated 9 October 2026 · 36 milestones in the last 90 days · Follow by RSS
State of the sector
As of 9 October 2026
Launch has more companies in the directory than any other sector, and more of them have died. Vector Launch, Leo Aerospace and Orbex are among the shutdowns. The survivors include the companies that turned rockets into a business: SpaceX, Rocket Lab and Firefly Aerospace, all now public.
Three rockets reached orbit for the first time in September 2026. SpaceX's Starship got there on its 14th flight and released 26 Starlink satellites. Isar Aerospace's Spectrum made it on its second flight, the first orbital launch from Western European soil, and Galactic Energy's Pallas-1 made it on its first. Nine days before Spectrum flew, ESA had awarded Isar, PLD Space and Rocket Factory Augsburg European Launcher Challenge contracts running to 2030. In August, LandSpace landed a Zhuque-3 first stage, the first Chinese commercial company to land an orbital-class booster.
Not every debut went well. Space Pioneer's Tianlong-3 failed 33 seconds into its first flight in April 2026, and Space One lost its third Kairos two minutes after liftoff in March. Several first flights are close. Stoke Space now plans Nova's debut for early 2027, Relativity Space is integrating engines on Terran R's first stage, and Orienspace aims to fly the reusable Gravity-2 in the fourth quarter of 2026.
Latest milestones
Every dated event from the companies below, newest first, each with its source.
Maritime Launch Services: Galaxia will develop and supply an autonomous flight safety system for Spaceport Nova Scotia
Rocket Factory Augsburg: Names Alexander Dahm CEO, succeeding Indulis Kalnins
HyImpulse: Receives a UK CAA launch operator licence to fly SR75 from SaxaVord, covering one flight per 12 months
Interstellar Technologies: Japan's science ministry allocates an extra ¥3.93B to the ZERO rocket under the SBIR Phase 3 fund
Skyrora: Completes a 45-second hotfire of a scaled-down Skylark XL first-stage engine
Orbex: Portugal's Omnidea completes its purchase of Orbex's UK manufacturing assets, intellectual property and brand from the administrators, and plans a PrimeNEO launcher based on Prime
Rocket Lab: Signs Synspective for 20 Electron launches, its largest commercial Electron contract
Deep Blue Aerospace: Raises close to $300M for its reusable Nebula rockets while testing an upgraded engine
SpaceX: Starship reaches orbit for the first time on Flight 14 and deploys 26 Starlink satellites, though it loses an engine on the way up and is brought down after almost two orbits instead of 10 hoursRocket Factory Augsburg: Receives €2.7M more under ESA's Boost! programme, funded by the UK Space Agency, for its SaxaVord ground segment and hot-fire test standsShow 40 earlier milestones
Isar Aerospace: Co-founder Josef Fleischmann hands over his operational role to found Bavaria Instruments, and Can Araz becomes CTOIsar Aerospace: SEOPS books five dedicated Spectrum launches for 2028 to 2030 from Andøya and Nova Scotia
LandSpace: A Zhuque-2E rocket puts 10 Qianfan satellites into polar orbitMaritime Launch Services: Finalizes the statement of work and milestones with Isar Aerospace under their facilities usage agreement
Gilmour Space: Signs an agreement with Hypersonix to develop hypersonic flight-test capability
Stoke Space: Raises a $1B first close of a Series E led by Point72 Ventures and Spark Capital, taking total funding to $2.3B; Nova's debut is now early 2027Isar Aerospace: Spectrum reaches orbit on its second flight, the first orbital launch from Western European soil, and releases five cubesats and a DLR experimentHyImpulse: Extends its Series A by more than €50M, co-led by JOIN Capital and Ace Capital Partners, taking total funding to about €125M
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 2028Isar Aerospace: Signs a launch contract with Astroscale Japan to fly the ADRAS-J2 debris-removal mission on Spectrum from Andøya in 2027 or 2028
PLD Space: Adds €108M to its Series C, led again by Mitsubishi Electric, taking the round to €288M for Miura 5 production and launch infrastructure
Agnikul Cosmos: India's Technology Development Board agrees to provide ₹200 crore, in convertible debentures, toward a reusable AgnibaanIsar Aerospace: ESA awards a €197.8M European Launcher Challenge contract for Spectrum flights through 2030 and vehicle upgradesPLD Space: ESA awards a €158.9M European Launcher Challenge contract for Miura 5 flights through 2030 and vehicle upgradesRocket Factory Augsburg: ESA awards a €186.9M European Launcher Challenge contract for RFA ONE flights through 2030 and vehicle upgradesSpaceX: Announces Starbase Louisiana, a $100B Gulf Coast Starship site with five launch complexes, building from 2027 for first launches in 2029Orbex: Highlands and Islands Enterprise buys the Sutherland Spaceport assets from the liquidators, six months after Orbex entered administrationSpaceX: Falcon booster B1067 flies its 37th mission, a record, on a launch that brings Falcon booster landings to 654
Orienspace: Closes a pre-C round of several hundred million yuan and begins IPO preparation; the reusable Gravity-2 is aimed at a fourth-quarter debut
i-Space: First tranche of a Series E raises nearly ¥1 billion for Hyperbola-3LandSpace: Zhuque-3 lands its first stage in Gansu, making LandSpace the first Chinese commercial company to land an orbital-class booster; video then showed a fire breaking out in its aft section
Relativity Space: Engine integration milestone reached for Terran R first stageRocket Factory Augsburg: Tank problem forces a destack, cancelling the launch window
Skyroot Aerospace: Vikram-1 reaches orbit on its first flight, the first orbital launch by a private Indian companyMaritime Launch Services: Isar Aerospace signs a ten-year deal for a Spectrum complexOrbex: Administrators report £689,000 cash against a £117 million deficitOrienspace: Third Gravity-1 flight carries nine satellites from the East China Sea, a Chinese commercial payload recordRocket Lab: Agrees to buy the satellite operator Iridium at $54 a share, valuing it at about $8B
EXOS Aerospace: Partners with Scorpius Space Launch Company on reusable flight systems ahead of its BLK3 flight campaignMaritime Launch Services: Barracuda flight ends in an anomaly late in the boost phaseSpaceX: Lists on Nasdaq as SPCX in the largest IPO in historyStoke Space: Completes Nova first-stage structural verification ahead of the rocket’s debutBlue Origin: A New Glenn explodes on the pad during a static fire test before its fourth flight; Blue Origin later traces it to the main oxygen valve on a BE-4 engineGilmour Space: Selected as docking partner for Starfish Space's Otter Pup 2 missionSkyroot Aerospace: Raises $60M at a $1.1B valuation, becoming India's first space tech unicornAgnikul Cosmos: Test-fires four Agnilet engines together as a cluster, a step toward the orbital Agnibaan
Zero 2 Infinity: Enters voluntary insolvency proceedings at a Barcelona commercial courtBlue Origin: New Glenn flies a previously flown booster for the first timeNew in launch
Skyroot Aerospace India's first private rocket to orbit
Agnikul Cosmos Rockets on single-piece 3D-printed engines
HyImpulse Paraffin-fuelled hybrid rockets
Deep Blue Aerospace Landing rockets before reaching orbit
Galactic EnergyChina's most-flown private rocket
LandSpace Methane rockets that land
Orienspace Big solid rockets launched from ships
Space EpochStainless steel rockets caught by the sea
Space PioneerFirst private Chinese liquid rocket to orbit
All 41 launch companies
Ranked by disclosed funding.
SpaceX GraduatedReusable rockets and spacecraft
Stoke Space The fully reusable Nova rocket
Blue Origin GraduatedOrbital rockets and spacecraft
Gilmour Space Low-cost hybrid rockets
Rocket Lab GraduatedSmallsat launch services
Skyroot Aerospace India's first private rocket to orbit
Vector Launch Shut downAffordable space access
Astra GraduatedLow-cost orbital launches
Agnikul Cosmos Rockets on single-piece 3D-printed engines
Latitude Zephyr, the dedicated small launcher
Firefly Aerospace GraduatedSmall-satellite launchers
Maritime Launch Services GraduatedCommercial spaceport
Zero 2 Infinity Shut downBalloon-borne launchers
EXOS Aerospace Reusable suborbital space vehicles
Bagaveev Shut down3D printed rocket engines
Australia Space Launch DormantHelping launch down under
Black Arrow DormantHorizon sea launch service
Deep Blue Aerospace Landing rockets before reaching orbit
Eclipse Orbital DormantAffordable cube-sat launch service
Exodus Space Corp DormantReusable horizontal space vehicles
Galactic EnergyChina's most-flown private rocket
HyImpulse Paraffin-fuelled hybrid rockets
i-Space Developing a commercial space shuttle
Interstellar Technologies ZERO, the biomethane launcher
Isar Aerospace Spectrum, Europe’s private orbital rocket
LandSpace Methane rockets that land
Leo Aerospace Shut downHigh altitude smallsat launcher
OneSpace DormantLaunch services for satellites and spacecraft
Orbex Shut downPrivate launch services
Orienspace Big solid rockets launched from ships
PLD Space Commercial launch services
Relativity Space 3D printed rockets
Rocket Factory Augsburg Small rockets, automotive-style production
ShipInSpace Shut downProvide access to space
Skyrora Building launch vehicles
Space EpochStainless steel rockets caught by the sea
Space OneJapan’s solid-fuel rocket venture
Space PioneerFirst private Chinese liquid rocket to orbit
STAR Smallsat launch services
Stofiel Aerospace Shut downSmallsat balloon launch service
World View Enterprises AcquiredStratospheric observation and launch services
How many launch space startups are there in 2026?
Space Bandits tracks 41 launch companies, 22 of them active, with $7.1B in disclosed funding between them.
What is the latest news from launch startups?
The most recent milestone on record is from Maritime Launch Services, dated 7 October 2026: "Galaxia will develop and supply an autonomous flight safety system for Spaceport Nova Scotia."
How many launch startups have shut down?
7 of the 41 have shut down, and 5 more have shown no public activity for years. The graveyard records how each one ended.
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