4 Space Stocks to Load Up On While SpaceX Gets All the Attention

The blockbuster debut of Space Exploration Technologies -- better known as SpaceX -- has consumed the market's attention this past month. That's fair enough as it's one of the most consequential initial public offerings (IPOs) in years, and the stock has been soaring since its initial public offering (IPO).

But here's what gets lost in that noise: While investors scramble for SpaceX shares, a group of smaller, public space companies has been doing real, measurable work that doesn't show up in the IPO headlines. The four stocks below are still becoming household names and merit more attention.

Image source: Getty Images.

1. Rocket Lab

Rocket Lab (NASDAQ: RKLB) is probably the closest thing to SpaceX on the public markets, which means it often gets overshadowed rather than evaluated on its own terms. That would be a mistake right now.

Earlier this year, Rocket Lab completed the acquisition of Motiv Space Systems, a robotics company whose technology has literally driven on Mars. With this buy, Rocket Lab is becoming a full-stack space systems builder. It also recently announced solar arrays designed to power space-based data centers, which is a bet that orbital compute infrastructure is coming faster than most people think.

The concern here is real. The company is still burning cash and posting net losses. Profitability isn't imminent, and its Neutron launch vehicle is still in development. Investors need patience. But the backlog and the deliberate acquisition strategy suggest management is building something durable, not just buying hype.

2. Planet Labs

Planet Labs (NYSE: PL) made a quiet but significant move by partnering with Anthropic to feed its massive daily satellite imagery archive into Claude, Anthropic's AI model. The goal is to turn raw geospatial data into actual answers -- think "which ports are congested today" rather than "here's an image of a port." That's the difference between a data vendor and an intelligence platform.

The company reached non-GAAP profitability for the first time in fiscal 2026, which is a real turning point. Planet Labs' business model has long been questioned because satellites are expensive and customers aren't always obvious. The Anthropic partnership signals a pivot toward the defense and enterprise artificial intelligence (AI) markets, where the real revenue is.

3. Intuitive Machines

Intuitive Machines (NASDAQ: LUNR) started as the company that figured out how to land on the Moon commercially. It's turning into something broader and more interesting.

In March, NASA awarded the company a $180.4 million contract to deliver payloads to the lunar south pole. Then in May, it became the prime contractor for NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera, putting Intuitive Machines in control of the key instrument that maps and monitors the Moon's surface. Earlier, the company secured a $175 million institutional equity investment to fund its expansion into satellite communications.

The honest risk here is that this is still a binary-mission business in some ways. Each landing is a high-stakes event, and failure would be costly -- financially and reputationally. To me, the Space Force budget proposal calling for a 124% increase in fiscal 2027 changes the risk/reward calculus meaningfully. A company this embedded in the U.S. government's lunar and defense plans becomes harder to write off after a single setback.

4. Redwire

Redwire (NYSE: RDW) doesn't launch rockets. It makes the components that go inside everything that gets launched: the solar arrays, structural systems, sensors, and in-space manufacturing hardware. That pick-and-shovel positioning in the space economy is genuinely underappreciated.

The company has been landing real contracts: a solar array deal with Moog for a classified national security mission, an Air Force Research Laboratory contract for enhanced space capabilities, and a recent Bloomberg appearance where its CEO discussed the infrastructure boom following SpaceX's debut. Institutional capital has started noticing -- volume in Redwire shares spiked as much as 400% around the SpaceX IPO filing.

What I'd push back on is the pace of profitability. Redwire missed earnings-per-share (EPS) estimates in the first quarter of 2026, and margins in space hardware aren't naturally wide. This is a company betting on scale. It is betting that as the space economy grows, demand for its components compounds. That bet could take years to pay out fully.

Micah Zimmerman has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Intuitive Machines, Moog, Planet Labs PBC, and Rocket Lab. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.