Space Force spending fuels space hardware investment surge

Private investment in space hardware grew significantly from $0.5 billion in 2012 to $17 billion in 2025, driven heavily by increasing government defense spending through the Space Force and falling launch costs. An analysis of listed space stocks shows that while revenues are rising, a majority still come from government customers. The authors argue that the central question for the industry's future is whether defense will serve as just the first customer or become the permanent one. Open article →