RONALDO SCHEMIDT / Getty Images
Space stocks rallied broadly Tuesday as investor enthusiasm around SpaceX's initial public offering filing spread across the sector, lifting launch companies, satellite operators, and space-focused exchange-traded funds.
Redwire Corp. ended Tuesday's session 26% higher, with AST SpaceMobile Inc. adding 13% and MDA Space Ltd., the Canadian satellite and robotics company, posting a 4.9% gain, according to Bloomberg. NASA's selection of Firefly Aerospace Inc.'s Elytra spacecraft to carry drones to the lunar surface under the Moonfall mission sent the company's shares up 19% on the day. Intuitive Machines Inc. dropped 8.9% after being passed over in NASA's selection process for a contract to construct lunar terrain rovers.
Over the past five trading sessions, the VanEck space ETF (ticker: WARP) has climbed 24%, fueled by surges across its portfolio of names such as Rocket Lab Corp., Planet Labs, Firefly Aerospace, and Intuitive Machines, according to CNBC. Another space-focused fund, the Procure Space ETF (UFO), has returned roughly 65% since January and has more than doubled over the trailing six-month period, according to CNBC.
Tuesday's session marked the largest single-day advance since last April for a Bank of America $BAC +0.77% index tracking U.S. companies at the center of the space race, which has now gained 57% in 2026, according to Bloomberg.
