Investing in space: space stocks, ETFs and private equity

You watch rockets land again and thousands of satellites head into orbit, and you wonder how you could take part in that development? Since SpaceX listed in June 2026, the best-known space company in the world has been tradable on the stock market. Many of the companies building the next generation of satellites and spacecraft are still private. That leaves you three routes: individual space stocks, space ETFs and funds that hold stakes in private space companies.

Space investing at a glance

• The space economy reached 686 billion US dollars in 2025 according to the Space Foundation, 12 per cent more than the year before.
• SpaceX has been listed since 12 June 2026. Smaller space companies and groups with a space division are listed as well.
• Space ETFs spread your money across many holdings, but often include companies that earn only part of their revenue from space.
• Private companies like K2 Space, Impulse Space and Portal Space Systems have no share you can buy.
• You can take part indirectly through the ARK Private Innovation ELTIF, which holds these companies alongside SpaceX.
• Risks: technical setbacks, high valuations, reliance on government contracts, tied-up capital, losses up to the total loss of your capital.

How big is the space economy?

The Space Foundation, a US organisation that adds up revenues and government spending around space every year, puts the 2025 figure at 686 billion US dollars. That is 12 per cent more than in 2024. Commercial business accounts for most of it, 544.3 billion US dollars or 79 per cent, and the space budgets of 53 countries make up the rest.

Most of the money is earned on Earth: with navigation services such as GPS and with the ground equipment that receives signals from space. According to the report, these two together make up more than three quarters of commercial revenue. The fastest growth, however, is in the segments that lead into space. Revenue from building satellites rose by 67.2 per cent in 2025, and revenue from rocket launches by 49.4 per cent. The drivers are large satellite networks for internet from space and growing defence budgets.

For you as an investor, this means that it makes a big difference to opportunities and risks whether an investment gives you a stake in rockets and satellites or in navigation devices.

Episode #72 of our podcast Diversify (in German) shows that space is currently moving from founder project to asset class. By the end of the third quarter of 2026, 92.5 billion US dollars had flowed into space, according to the episode, more than in the whole of record year 2025. Behind the record is a bottleneck in launch slots. Blue Origin, the space company of Jeff Bezos, is raising outside money for the first time after 26 years: 10 billion US dollars at a valuation of 130 billion US dollars. Europe has reached 13.5 billion US dollars so far in 2026, with Isar Aerospace from Ottobrunn as one of its best-known names.

Space stocks: which space companies are listed?

The best-known space stock is SpaceX, listed since 12 June 2026. With the Falcon 9, the company brings satellites and astronauts into orbit, and with Starlink it delivers internet via satellite. Since taking over the AI company xAI, SpaceX also runs data centres, and this division now brings in the most revenue. Anyone who buys the share therefore holds a large stake in an AI business. Ticker, security number and everything about the listing are in our article on the SpaceX stock.

Alongside it there are smaller listed space companies, such as Rocket Lab with its own rockets and satellite production, or AST SpaceMobile, which wants to offer mobile coverage directly from space. In Europe, Airbus with its space division and the Bremen satellite maker OHB are listed. We name these companies for orientation only, and they are not a buy recommendation.

For many of these stocks, space makes up only part of revenue. At Airbus, for example, aircraft manufacturing dominates. Smaller space companies often still make losses and react strongly to news about launches, contracts or new funding.

Space ETFs: broad exposure to the space economy

A space ETF bundles many space stocks into one product. Depending on the index, it holds pure space companies, satellite operators, suppliers and defence groups, and often telecoms and technology companies that do only a small part of their business in space. Several providers offer space ETFs, and their indices differ widely.

Before you buy a space ETF, you can check the factsheet for the following:

• Which ten holdings are the largest, and what share of the fund do they make up?
• What share of the fund sits in companies that earn most of their money from space?
• Is SpaceX included? SpaceX has been part of the Nasdaq-100 since 7 July 2026, so ETFs on that index hold the share under fixed rules.
• What does the ETF cost per year? The ongoing charges are listed in the factsheet.

An ETF spreads your money across many companies. It holds no stakes in private space companies, though, because ETFs buy only listed shares. How this works for private equity is covered in our article on private equity ETFs.

Private space companies: K2 Space, Impulse Space and Portal Space Systems

A large part of the development in space happens in companies that are still private. Their value changes in funding rounds, which private investors cannot access directly. That was also the case for SpaceX before its shares reached the stock market. How you can take part before a stock market listing is explained in our article on pre-IPO investing.

K2 Space

K2 Space was founded in 2022 and builds large, high-power satellite platforms in series. A platform of this kind is the core of a satellite, with propulsion, power supply and control, onto which customers fit their own technology. In July 2026, K2 Space raised 500 million US dollars at a valuation of 6.8 billion US dollars, led by Kleiner Perkins and ICONIQ. In December 2025, the valuation stood at 3 billion US dollars. According to Bloomberg, the satellite operator SES initially ordered 28 platforms for a planned satellite network.

Impulse Space

Impulse Space was founded by Tom Mueller, who as SpaceX's first employee played a leading role in developing the company's rocket engines. Impulse builds spacecraft that move satellites into their final orbit after launch, a kind of transporter in space. In June 2026, the company raised 500 million US dollars, led by 137 Ventures and Banner VC. According to Reuters, the valuation was 4.26 billion US dollars, a figure Impulse has not confirmed itself.

Portal Space Systems

Portal Space Systems, based in the US state of Washington, develops agile spacecraft that can change orbit quickly. In April 2026, Portal closed a 50 million US dollar funding round led by Geodesic Capital and Mach33. The smaller model Starburst is due to fly for the first time in the fourth quarter of 2026, and the larger Supernova no earlier than 2027. Portal is therefore at a much earlier stage than K2 Space and Impulse Space.

Taking part before a listing: through the ARK Private Innovation ELTIF

Through NAO, you can invest in the ARK Private Innovation ELTIF, hand-picked by our investment team like every fund in the NAO app. ARK Invest launched the fund in January 2026. It takes stakes in technology companies in late growth stages. At the end of August 2026, its space holdings were SpaceX, K2 Space, Impulse Space and Portal Space Systems. The fund held SpaceX before the listing and kept the position afterwards.

The fund also invests in companies from other fields, including OpenAI, Databricks and Kalshi. With one fund unit, you hold a stake in a portfolio of private technology companies whose make-up can change at any time. The ELTIF is therefore not a pure space fund.

You can invest with a one-off payment or a savings plan. A lock-up period runs until 26 February 2027, during which you cannot redeem your units. You can find the fund on our private equity page. How an ELTIF is structured and when redemptions are possible is explained in our ELTIF overview. How venture capital works for young companies is described in our venture capital guide.

Space stocks, ETF or fund: the routes compared

• Individual space stocks: tradable daily, and you decide on every holding yourself. Your result depends on a few companies.
• Space ETF: tradable daily and broadly diversified. It often includes companies with little space business, and private companies are missing.
• ARK Private Innovation ELTIF: access to private space companies before a possible listing, mixed with other technology companies. Your capital is tied up for longer, and redemptions are possible only on set dates.

Risks of investing in space

Space is an industry with long development times and high costs. Investors carry these risks above all:

• Technology: Failed launches or failures in orbit can set a programme back by years. At young companies like Portal Space Systems, the first flights are still to come.
• Valuation: K2 Space more than doubled its valuation between December 2025 and July 2026. Jumps like this assume that the plans work out. Private companies have no stock market price, and funds value them using funding rounds and models.
• Government contracts: Many space companies live to a large extent on defence ministries and space agencies. If budgets change, their business is hit directly.
• Concentration: Individual space stocks depend on a few programmes and fluctuate strongly.
• Tied-up capital: The ARK Private Innovation ELTIF has a lock-up period until 26 February 2027. After that, redemptions are possible only on set dates and may be limited.
• Loss: Losses up to the total loss of the invested capital are possible.

What does this mean for you?

Space is growing, and more and more money flows into companies that build satellites and move them in orbit. Which route suits you depends on how long you can invest your money and how much single-company risk you want to carry. Before you invest, you can clarify for yourself:

• Do you want to be able to sell at any time, or can you commit money for several years?
• How much space is really in the stock or ETF you are looking at?
• What does the product cost, and when do you get your money back? For funds, the answers are in the key information document.

Do you have questions about the ARK Private Innovation ELTIF? Our customer service team is there for you in person on working days. Feel free to write to us.

FAQ

How can I invest in space?

Through individual listed space stocks, through space ETFs or through funds that hold stakes in private space companies. At NAO, that is the ARK Private Innovation ELTIF, which holds SpaceX, K2 Space, Impulse Space and Portal Space Systems, among others.

Which space stocks are there?

The best known is SpaceX, listed since 12 June 2026 (German security number A42D4F). In addition there are smaller space companies in the US and European groups with their own space division.

Is there a space ETF?

Yes, several providers have launched space ETFs. They hold only listed shares and often include companies whose main business lies outside space.

Can I invest in K2 Space or Impulse Space?

Not directly, as neither company is listed. You can take part indirectly through the ARK Private Innovation ELTIF, which holds both in its portfolio.

How big is the space economy?

According to the Space Foundation, it stood at 686 billion US dollars in 2025, 12 per cent more than the year before. Around 79 per cent comes from commercial business.

This article is for information only and is not investment advice. Investments in private markets are long-term, your capital is tied up for the duration, and losses up to the total loss of your capital are possible. You can find the fund documents and the key information document in the NAO app.

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