SpaceX held its initial public offering (IPO) on June 12, 2026, raising nearly $75 billion and achieving a staggering valuation of $1.8 trillion. While this milestone has garnered significant attention in the space industry, it highlights a broader investment landscape where the contemporary space sector is increasingly diversified and commercially viable, contrasting with traditional aerospace and defense industries that heavily rely on government contracts.
As of fiscal year 2025, approximately 72% of Lockheed Martin’s sales stemmed from U.S. government contracts, while Northrop Grumman reported a similar concentration of 95% to 98%. In contrast, the space economy generates around 78% of its revenues from commercial applications, only 22% from government sources. Notably, SpaceX’s Starlink division alone contributed $11.4 billion—about 61% of the company’s total revenue in 2025—indicating a significant reduction in its government dependency compared to its traditional aerospace counterparts.
Furthermore, the Procure Space ETF® (ticker: UFO), which focuses on a range of space-related companies, had grown its assets under management from $33 million to over $1 billion from the end of 2024 to May 2026. As of June 30, 2026, the ETF reported a year-to-date net asset value return of 31.76%, underscoring the rapid growth potential of the space market, projected to reach $1.8 trillion by 2035, up from $630 billion in 2023, according to a McKinsey & Company report.
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