Quick Read – AST SpaceMobile grew Q1 revenue 1,952% year over year, while Firefly Aerospace is guiding for between $420 million and $450 million in 2026 revenue backed by Space Force contracts. – Commercial companies now drive 80% of the $625 billion space economy, a complete…
ip from 80% government control just one generation ago. – The trillion-dollar space economy has stopped being a science-fiction talking point. Instead, it’s starting to show up in earnings reports, ETF flows, and defense budgets
On the July 15 episode of Goldman Sachs Exchanges, The Growth of the Space Industry, host Allison Nathan told listeners the sector sits at about $625 billion today and that hitting the trillion-dollar mark is “a matter of when, not if.” The consensus timing she cited: the mid-2030s or 2040s, with falling launch costs doing most of the heavy lifting. Her framing of the ownership shift is the more investable insight. “About 80% today is driven by commercial companies. A generation ago, it was 80% government,” Nathan said, describing “a flywheel effect of attracting more investment and development.” A guest on the show walked through what that commercial layer already looks like in everyday life. iPhone SOS functions in remote locations, Starlink delivering “Wi-Fi during your flight at basically real-time speeds that you would get over broadband internet,” and more frequently refreshed Google Maps imagery from earth-observation constellations.
Further out, the guest pointed to space stations, a lunar base, and “ultimately making humanity multi-planetary.” How Investors Are Playing the Theme The cleanest thematic wrapper is the Procure Space ETF (NASDAQ: UFO), which holds 47 equity positions spanning satellite communications, launch, earth observation, and aerospace primes. Net assets stand at $749.3 million, with top weights in Planet Labs (6.16%), Viasat (5.90%), Globalstar (5.28%), Sirius XM (5.05%), and Rocket Lab (5.02%). General Motors, POSCO, and 50,000+ everyday…