Rocket Supply Chain
Nags@nagavaishak
−2.0%
since Oct 7
The idea
I believe launch cadence keeps rising for years to come, so instead of betting on which rocket company wins, I own the suppliers that get paid either way: the engines, structures, avionics, and test gear behind every launch. The basket spreads across those four layers with no single name dominating, adds a couple of large steady aerospace names as ballast, and keeps a modest cash reserve on the side. I would rethink this if launch volumes actually stalled out rather than kept climbing.
What it owns
- Flight computers, sensors and test equipment go into every vehicle regardless of whose rocket it is. · TransDigm GroupIt owns proprietary components where it is the sole source, so more flying hardware means more of its parts sold at strong prices., HEICOIt sells thousands of aerospace parts and subcomponents into a growing fleet of aircraft and spacecraft, getting paid on volume rather than on any one program., Teledyne TechnologiesIt makes the sensors, imaging and instruments that go on rockets, satellites and the ground systems that track them, so space activity growth drives instrument demand., Curtiss-WrightIt supplies valves, flow control and rugged electronics used in propulsion and launch systems, parts every rocket needs no matter whose name is on the side., AstronicsIt makes power systems and the test equipment used to check flight hardware before it flies, so more launches means more hardware to power and test., Mercury SystemsIt builds the rugged computers and signal processing that fly on launch vehicles, satellites and defense systems, so demand for space-rated computing grows with launches.31%
- Every rocket is built from specialty alloys, forgings and aerostructures, and more launches means more of all of it. · Howmet AerospaceIt forges the engine parts and fasteners that aerospace builders need in volume, so a world with more rockets and more flights buys more of what it makes., ATI IncIt is one of the main US producers of titanium and heat-resistant alloys that rockets are made from, so rising launch cadence climbs specialty metal demand with it., Carpenter TechnologyIt makes the high-temperature alloys that go into engines and propulsion parts, metal that gets bought regardless of which launcher wins., DucommunIt builds structures and electronic assemblies for aerospace and defense primes, the kind of mid-tier supplier that gets paid on every vehicle built., Loar HoldingsIt owns a collection of small, specialized aerospace component lines where it is often the only maker, so rising build rates flow straight to it., RedwireIt sells space-grade structures, solar arrays and components to whoever is putting things in orbit, so more launches means more payloads that need its hardware.30%
- Engines and propulsion parts are the hardest piece of any rocket, so these companies sit closest to every launch. · Karman HoldingsIt builds payload fairings, interstage structures and propulsion hardware sold across nearly every US launch program, so rising launch volume flows directly into its order book., L3Harris TechnologiesIt owns Aerojet Rocketdyne, one of the few makers of large rocket engines outside the launch companies themselves, so more launches means more engine orders regardless of who flies., Kratos Defense & SecurityIt makes small rocket engines and low-cost propulsion for smaller launchers, hypersonic test vehicles and target drones, betting on the cheap end of the launch boom.19%
- Large, profitable aerospace suppliers steady the basket while the take plays out over years. · Honeywell InternationalIt is a huge avionics and aerospace systems business that benefits from more things flying without living or dying on launch cadence alone., Parker HannifinIt supplies the motion, fluid and fuel system components that run through aerospace and launch hardware, giving the basket a stable base.11%
- Cash10%