All good space stocks start as Space IPOs and 2026 is roaring into life, with the SpaceX IPO price yet to be determined.
The growing space industry is a new frontier for investors, and an aptly termed space IPO is the beginning of that journey.
CNBC’s August 2025 article Investing in Space: Space IPOs are rearing their heads again is a sign of an ongoing SPACE IPO wave, not seen since the wave of Space SPACs (Virgin Galactic being the most famous).
About IPOs
An IPO is an Initial Public Offering to both large investors and retail investors. An IPO is the process through which a private corporation becomes publicly traded, by offering its shares to the public for the first time, via an underwriter; usually an investment bank who manages the IPO process and takes a fee (5 to 7%). The underwriter determines the price at which the shares will be sold, based on the anticipated demand and the company’s valuation. They can also conduct roadshows and carefully tailored promotions of the company. Post-IPO, the company’s shares are traded on one or more stock exchanges, where they can be bought and sold by the general investor.
As of writing, several space companies are preparing to IPO or have completed the process.
SpaceX IPO – We are still waiting.
When you peruse your broker account balance, or what you want to jettison, in order to buy a piece of the SpaceX IPO, take a second to think of the valuation metrics. Metric #1: This highly anticipated SpaceX IPO in 2026 is an unprecedented offer. Expect valuations and double it, double it again. Why? Metric #2: The SpaceX valuation at IPO is a transition from a launch provider to a global infrastructure titan. Salivating market analysts (from interns to VPs and day traders) want that record-breaking valuation of $1.5 trillion and then some, which would imply a price-to-sales (P/S) multiple of approximately 63x to 68x based on forecasted 2026 revenues of $22 billion to $24 billion. “Stocks go up” says the financial talking-heads. This represents a staggering premium compared to traditional aerospace giants like Boeing or Lockheed Martin, which typically trade at 1.5x to 2x sales. Metric #3: The primary drivers for this “trillion-dollar” math include the low-earth-orbit-hogging Starlink satellites, serving 8.5 million subscribers 2025. Metric #4: SpaceX may be King of the emerging market for orbital data centers. Metric #5: Here comnes the X factor. What could go wrong? A few crashes? Who cares so far? How about a space debris cloud to cloud your expectations. Again, who cares when the Bulls are in control.
Sierra Space IPO – We are still waiting.
As of April 2024, Sierra Space, one of the US space industry’s most prized private companies, plans to go public within the next 18 months, according to its CEO. However, it may feel over-shadowed by other big name space IPOs.
Sierra Space was valued at $5.3 billion in its most recent funding round. It was spun out of defense contractor Sierra Nevada Corporation in 2021, and since then has built out the growing space economy: developing rocket propulsion technology, a commercial space station with Blue Origin, a spaceplane.
Sierra Space’s Dream Chaser spaceplane is still in testing and is set to have an inaugural mission to the International Space Station. It is designed and built to return to earth and land on any commercial runway, therefore lowering the barrier to entry into low-earth orbit and open up business opportunities.
Previous IPOs
Voyager Space IPO – Completed
Voyager Technologies (NYSE: VOYG) made a typically space-IPO debut on the New York Stock Exchange in June 2025, pricing its upsized offering at $31 per share and raising approximately $383 million. The stock rocketed up a massive 82% during a first-day surge, closing at $56.48.
Investors, like a herd of bulls, rallied behind its diversified portfolio of defence technology and commercial space infrastructure. Voyager Tech is a primary architect of the Starlab commercial space station, a pivotal project intended to succeed the International Space Station (the world’s most expensive piece of infrastructure ever, maybe, just maybe, bearing the Great Wall of China). Despite being a relatively young firm founded in 2019, Voyager’s strong ties to NASA and its role in the U.S. “Golden Dome” missile defense initiatives have positioned it as a bellwether for the “New Space” economy.
Firefly Aerospace IPO – Completed
Firefly Aerospace (Nasdaq: FLY) executed the largest space-IPO technology listing of 2025, making its jaw-dropping debut on August 7. The company priced its upsized offering at $45 per share, raising approximately $868 million and achieving an initial market valuation of roughly $8.5 billion. “What Space IPO Bubble?” said no one. Investor wild enthusiasm was rocket fueled by Firefly’s historic achievement earlier that year in March: Blue Ghost Mission 1 became the first fully successful commercial soft landing on the Moon by a private U.S. entity. The stock surged to $70, and has since then been face-slapped with the typical volatility of the “New Space” sector. However, Firefly maintains a robust $1.1 billion project backlog and continues to benefit from a strategic partnership with Northrop Grumman to develop the next-generation Antares 330 and Medium Launch Vehicle (MLV).
Astroscale conducted a successful IPO, adding to the list of space stocks in Japan.