The best propulsion space startups
26 propulsion companies in the directory, ranked by disclosed funding ($3.9B raised between them), spanning 9 countries.
The companies building the engines: from staged-combustion rocket motors to iodine-fueled electric thrusters the size of a shoebox. Every other category in this directory moves because of this one.
Updated 27 September 2026 · 13 milestones in the last 90 days · Follow by RSS
State of the sector
As of 27 September 2026
Propulsion covers two businesses. Some companies build the engines that get rockets off the ground: Ursa Major Technologies and Jiuzhou Yunjian sell theirs to other rocket builders, and launch developers such as Stoke Space and Isar Aerospace make their own. Others build the small thrusters that move satellites once they are up, like Enpulsion, ThrustMe, Morpheus Space, Pale Blue and Magdrive.
Small thrusters are now made in volume. ThrustMe passed 100 systems in orbit in June 2025, and in April 2026 it won contracts to equip 40 Japanese Earth observation satellites. Ursa Major Technologies agreed in August 2026 to go public by merging with a blank-check company. Magdrive's first orbital demonstration generated plasma but never moved its spacecraft.
Reaction Engines worked on SABRE for 35 years. The engine was meant to take aircraft from a standing start to hypersonic flight. The company went into administration in October 2024, and in June 2026 an undisclosed buyer paid £884,000 for its intellectual property. Phase Four was split up in 2025, with its thruster lines sold to Apex and Quantum Space.
Latest milestones
Every dated event from the companies below, newest first, each with its source.
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
Isar Aerospace: Spectrum reaches orbit on its second flight, the first orbital launch from Western European soil, and releases five cubesats and a DLR experimentIsar Aerospace: Signs a launch contract with Astroscale Japan to fly the ADRAS-J2 debris-removal mission on Spectrum from Andøya in 2027 or 2028
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 upgrades
Rocket Factory Augsburg: ESA awards a €186.9M European Launcher Challenge contract for RFA ONE flights through 2030 and vehicle upgrades
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 2027
Letara: Raises ¥2.6B (about $16M) led by Headline Asia, JIC Venture Growth Investments and Incubate Fund, ahead of an in-orbit firing test
Impulse Space: Space Force adds $28M to its contract for two more Mira vehicles, for the Victus Salo 2 and 3 responsive-space missionsRocket Factory Augsburg: Tank problem forces a destack, cancelling the launch windowShow 40 earlier milestones
Skyroot Aerospace: Vikram-1 reaches orbit on its first flight, the first orbital launch by a private Indian companyUrsa Major Technologies: US Navy awards $10 million to develop the MK 104 solid motorImpulse 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 otherImpulse Space: Raises a $500M Series D led by 137 Ventures and Banner VC, taking total funding past $1B a year after the Series C
Reaction Engines: An undisclosed buyer completes an £884,000 purchase of the IPStoke Space: Completes Nova first-stage structural verification ahead of the rocket’s debutSkyroot 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
ThrustMe: Contracts above ten million euros to equip 40 Japanese Earth observation satellites
Bellatrix Aerospace: Raises a $20M pre-Series B led by Cactus Partners to expand productionBellatrix Aerospace: Harbinger, its first complete satellite, launches on SpaceX's Transporter-16 and tests Bellatrix's own attitude control system in orbit
Enpulsion: Secures €22.5M led by Nordwind Growth to expand into the US, its first big outside raiseRocket Factory Augsburg: First RFA ONE stages shipped to SaxaVord Spaceport
Magdrive: Its orbital demo proves charging and plasma generation but never maneuvers the spacecraftUrsa Major Technologies: Draper engine powers an AFRL missile demonstrator past Mach 1Impulse Space: In the Remora mission with Starfish Space, the LEO Express-2 Mira closes on its own to within about 1,250 m of the LEO Express-1 MiraImpulse Space: LEO Express-3, Mira's third flight and the first for the upgraded vehicle, launches on Transporter-15 and deploys its customer's satellitesAgnikul Cosmos: Raises ₹150 crore (about $17M) at a $500M valuationUrsa Major Technologies: Raises a $100 million Series E led by Eclipse plus $50 million debtSkyroot Aerospace: Prime Minister Modi opens its Infinity Campus in Hyderabad and unveils Vikram-1
Phase Four: Quantum Space buys the multi-mode line and Hawthorne facilityUrsa Major Technologies: A defence prime orders $34.9 million of Draper enginesPhase Four: Apex buys the Hall effect thruster line, hardware and staff
Portal Space Systems: First commercial vacuum test of a solar thermal propulsion system, for the Supernova spacecraft
Manastu Space: Raises $3M in a round led by Capital-A, its first space investmentSkyroot Aerospace: Test-fires Kalam-1200, the solid motor for Vikram-1's first stage, for about 110 seconds at SriharikotaRocket Factory Augsburg: Preselected by ESA for the European Launcher Challenge
Latitude: Converts a former AstraZeneca plant in Reims into a factory for up to 50 rockets a year
Morpheus Space: GO-2 electric propulsion is validated in orbit aboard a D-Orbit ION carrierThrustMe: 100th propulsion system reaches orbit, 26 units on a single rideshareUrsa Major Technologies: Stratolaunch orders 16 upgraded Hadley engines for $32.9 millionLatitude: Wins €15M from France 2030 to bring Zephyr turbopump production in-houseMagdrive: Flies two Rogue metal-plasma thrusters on a D-Orbit vehicle, its first flight hardwareReaction Engines: Administrators line up a sale of the hypersonic technologyBellatrix Aerospace: Opens a US subsidiaryLatitude: Fires the Navier engine’s flight-configuration combustion chamber for ten secondsIsar Aerospace: Receives Norway’s first launch permit, clearing Spectrum’s test flight from AndøyaIsar Aerospace: Spectrum lifts off on the first orbital attempt from continental Europe and is lost half a minute inNew in propulsion
Skyroot Aerospace India's first private rocket to orbit
Agnikul Cosmos Rockets on single-piece 3D-printed engines
Bellatrix Aerospace Electric and green thrusters for satellites
Manastu Space Green-propellant thrusters for satellites
Letara Rocket engines that burn plastic
Jiuzhou YunjianMethalox engines for everyone's rockets
All 26 propulsion companies
Ranked by disclosed funding.
Stoke Space The fully reusable Nova rocket
Impulse Space Orbital transfer vehicles
Reaction Engines Shut downAir-breathing rocket engines
Skyroot Aerospace India's first private rocket to orbit
Portal Space Systems Solar-thermal rapid-maneuver spacecraft
Agnikul Cosmos Rockets on single-piece 3D-printed engines
Latitude Zephyr, the dedicated small launcher
Bellatrix Aerospace Electric and green thrusters for satellites
Magdrive Metal-fueled plasma propulsion
Manastu Space Green-propellant thrusters for satellites
Applied Ion Systems LLC Low cost electric propulsion systems
Accion Systems AcquiredSatellite propulsion
Additive Rocket Corporation Dormant3D printing rocket engines
Enpulsion Advanced propulsion systems for small sats
Interstellar Technologies ZERO, the biomethane launcher
Isar Aerospace Spectrum, Europe’s private orbital rocket
Jiuzhou YunjianMethalox engines for everyone's rockets
Letara Rocket engines that burn plastic
Miles Space AcquiredPropulsion and space communications
Morpheus Space Agile electric propulsion
NewRocket DormantEco-friendly rocket engines
Pale Blue Water-fuelled satellite propulsion
Phase Four AcquiredCompact electric propulsion for space
Rocket Factory Augsburg Small rockets, automotive-style production
ThrustMe Iodine electric propulsion
Ursa Major Technologies Engines for small satellites
How many propulsion space startups are there in 2026?
Space Bandits tracks 26 propulsion companies, 20 of them active, with $3.9B in disclosed funding between them.
What is the latest news from propulsion startups?
The most recent milestone on record is from Stoke Space, dated 8 September 2026: "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."
How many propulsion startups have shut down?
1 of the 26 have shut down, and 2 more are dormant, with no public activity for years. The graveyard records how each one ended.
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