AN-028 Company lists · list
Space Startups: Launch, Satellites, In-Space, by Stage
Space startups in the HardwareMap index: launch vehicles, satellite makers, capsules, stations and landers, with HQ, stage, disclosed raise and status.
by the HardwareMap editors3 min read
From the HardwareMap index, REV 26.09, refreshed 3 Oct 2026
Contents
Space startups in the HardwareMap index number 17 as of REV 26.09: launch vehicle builders, satellite makers, and companies working in orbit and on the Moon. This page lists each with HQ hub, stage, disclosed capital raised and status. Sorting rule: segment first (launch, satellites, in-space), then stage, then disclosed funding. It sits under the hardware startups index.
The table is live, drawn from the same records as each company datasheet. Boom Supersonic sits in the same aerospace category but builds airliners, so it is not counted here.
How we sort space startups
The list groups companies by the job they do for a customer:
- Launch. Rockets that carry payloads to orbit.
- Satellites. Spacecraft buses, communication satellites and imaging constellations.
- In-space. Transfer vehicles, return capsules, stations and lunar landers.
Inside each group we order by stage (public, then late private, then early) and then by disclosed raise. Stage is derived from the latest disclosed round. The funding stage breakdown shows how space compares with other hardware categories.
Launch space startups
Rocket Lab (Long Beach) flies Electron, one of the most frequently launched small rockets, builds spacecraft and components, and is developing Neutron, a reusable medium-lift rocket. Firefly Aerospace (Cedar Park, Texas) builds the Alpha small launcher and the Blue Ghost lunar lander, which made the first fully successful commercial Moon landing on March 2, 2025 (Firefly). Both are listed.
Stoke Space (Kent, Washington) is building Nova, a rocket whose first and second stages are both designed to land and fly again. Isar Aerospace (Ottobrunn, Germany) builds the Spectrum launcher; its index record notes that Spectrum reached orbit on its second flight in September 2026.
Three more build small launchers outside the US and Europe. Skyroot Aerospace (Hyderabad) develops Vikram-I and Vikram-II. Agnikul Cosmos (Chennai) builds Agnibaan, powered by 3D-printed engines. Gilmour Space Technologies (Gold Coast, Australia) builds the Eris rocket with its own hybrid engines.
Satellite space startups
Astranis (San Francisco) builds MicroGEO satellites, small geostationary spacecraft that give one customer or country its own internet capacity. Apex (Los Angeles) sells standardized satellite buses, the platform that supplies power, propulsion and avionics, so customers can buy a spacecraft off a catalog.
Pixxel (Bengaluru) builds hyperspectral imaging satellites and announced a $100M Series C in September 2026, per its index record. Fleet Space Technologies (Adelaide) pairs satellites with ground sensing for mineral exploration. Dhruva Space (Hyderabad) sells small satellites, ground stations and launch services as one package.
In-space startups: capsules, stations, landers
Impulse Space (Redondo Beach) builds the Mira orbital transfer vehicle and the Helios kick stage, designed to move payloads from low Earth orbit to geostationary orbit. Varda Space Industries (El Segundo) flies W-Series capsules that process drug formulations in microgravity and reenter for recovery; each return also serves as a hypersonic flight test.
Vast (Long Beach) is building Haven-1, a single-module commercial space station designed to launch on a Falcon 9 and host visiting Crew Dragon crews. The Exploration Company (Gauting, Germany) builds the reusable Nyx capsule for cargo, and raised a Series C in September 2026. Astrobotic (Pittsburgh) builds lunar landers and was acquired by Voyager Technologies in July 2026.
Space startups by stage
Read by status and latest disclosed round, the list splits into four bands:
The remaining private companies have not disclosed a round label, so the table derives their stage from disclosed capital. The pattern is clear: launch and in-space companies need large rounds before first revenue, while satellite makers can sell earlier.
What the index shows about space startups
- Los Angeles is the hub. Rocket Lab, Varda, Impulse, Apex and Vast all sit in the Los Angeles area, near a deep aerospace supply base. See hardware startups by hub.
- India is the second cluster. 4 of the 17 are Indian: two launch builders and two satellite makers. Agnikul was the first Indian space-tech company to sign an agreement with ISRO, per its index record.
- Defense money is rising. Varda sells hypersonic test flights to the US military. Defense buyers appear in more space records each REV; see defense tech startups.
Space sits within the wider deep tech startups list. The next REV records new launches, listings and status changes here first.
Continue with Top eVTOL Companies: Who Is Certified, Who Is Flying, Who Is Funded.
Frequently asked questions
How many space startups are in the HardwareMap index?
The index lists 17 space startups as of REV 26.09, across the United States, India, Germany and Australia. Seven build launch vehicles, five build or operate satellites, and five work in orbit or on the Moon with capsules, transfer vehicles, stations and landers. Two are publicly listed and one has been acquired. The table on this page updates with the index.
Which space startup has raised the most?
Among the space startups in the index, Firefly Aerospace has the largest disclosed raise at about $1.57 billion, followed by Stoke Space at about $1.4 billion and Impulse Space at about $1.1 billion. Rocket Lab and Astranis are close behind. These figures count disclosed rounds only, so they leave out debt, government contracts and public-market proceeds the index has not recorded.
Which space startups are public?
Two in the index are listed: Rocket Lab, which flies the Electron small launcher and builds spacecraft, and Firefly Aerospace, which went public on Nasdaq in August 2025. Astrobotic was acquired by Voyager Technologies in July 2026 and now operates as Voyager Lunar Systems. Every other space startup on this page is private as of REV 26.09.
Is SpaceX a startup?
Not by the index's definition. SpaceX is the established launch provider and satellite operator that most companies on this page either compete with or buy rides from. The index lists companies at the startup stage or recently public, so SpaceX and Blue Origin are left out, while companies founded by their former engineers, such as Stoke Space and Impulse Space, are in.
What is the hardest part of building a space startup?
Flight heritage. Customers want proof that hardware has worked in orbit before they commit a mission to it, and the first flight is expensive and often fails. Isar Aerospace reached orbit on the second flight of its Spectrum rocket, in September 2026. That makes the first successful flight the most important line on any space datasheet, and the index records it where it is public.
HardwareMap catalogues every space startup that meets the bar. Open any company above for its datasheet, or browse the aerospace category.
The index
All 219 startups, filterable by category, hub, stage and funding.