Despite turbulence in public markets, Q1 private space dealmaking was strong—particularly for the launch sector.
Three US startups brought in more than $100M in Q1: Rocket startup Stoke’s $260M Series C, space-as-a-service operator Loft Orbital’s $170M Series C, and mega satellite manufacturer K2’s $110M Series B. Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt also made a large investment to save Relativity, but the final dollar amount has yet to be disclosed.
Rocket dollars: After a slow 2024, rocket dollars roared back in the year’s first three months. Six of the top 14 space fundings in Q1 were launch businesses. The list includes Stoke, Deep Blue, Interstellar Technologies, Orbex, Relativity Space, and iSpace.
European support: European governments are getting in on the VC betting game in a trend that could redefine public-private partnerships. In Q1, Sateliot received a €13.8M ($15M) investment from Spain’s government, and Orbex received £20M ($25M) from the UK. Both checks appeared to be structured as equity investments.
The US is also exploring a sovereign investment vehicle. In February, President Trump set in motion plans for a wealth fund that could see the US taxpayer take a stake in startups.
Space Stocks
SPAC bloodbath: After a post-election surge, space SPACs have since rolled over and now sit deeply in the red for the year. The abrupt turnaround follows broader tech market trends that are driven by various macro headwinds
- DOGE budget cuts have stoked recession fears and may directly impact space revenue that relies heavily on government dollars.
- Impending tariffs have put upward pressure on inflation.
- Global protectionist policies may impact foreign revenues.
- Investors are selling the American exceptionalism trade and rotating back into European assets and risk-off trades.
The one clear winner in the whirlwind? Europe’s satcom industry. SES and Eutelsat are up big this year as the EU takes a hard look at beefing up defense budgets, particularly within its satellite connectivity procurement strategy.
Revenue: Rocket Lab generated a record $132M of revenue in Q4 (+121% YOY), driven by four Electron launches in Q4 and continued momentum in its space systems. Intuitive Machines also had a solid quarter, pulling in $55M in sales (79% YoY).
Outside of those two, industry growth last quarter was moderate. Planet Labs grew just 5%, BlackSky sales fell on a tough YoY comparison, and legacy US satcom providers have seen revenue stall.
Launch
There were 69 global launch attempts in the past three months, including two first-timers: Blue Origin’s New Glenn and Isar Aerospace’s Spectrum.
Arianespace launched Ariane 6 on its second flight (and first commercial mission) in March, putting Europe’s quarter launch tally at two—an improvement that earned them their separate category.
Rocket Lab launched five Electron rockets in Q1, a record for the company. All of the flights were out of New Zealand. Notably, New Zealand hosted more rocket launches in the quarter than Russia.
SpaceX led the way again this quarter with 38 orbital attempts (36 Falcon missions and two Starship launches). Starlink-dedicated launches accounted for 81% of its manifest. SpaceX is ferociously adding capacity to the network to keep up with demand. Starlink passed 5M customers at the beginning of March, a notable YoY growth acceleration.
