Space Hardware, Earth Payoff
Liz Rabban@lizrabban
−8.0%
since Oct 6
The idea
I believe the real winners in space are the companies enabling it now, not the distant moonshots, so this basket leans into power, materials, in-orbit servicing, and the component suppliers selling into every launcher and satellite program. It favors firms with revenue today and near-term government or commercial contracts over long-horizon bets, with a few larger dual-use names for ballast. I keep 10% in cash to add on dips, and I'd rethink this if the payoff stopped showing up in Earthbound contracts within the next few years rather than a decade-long buildout.
What it owns
- Sensors, actuators, and electronics are sold to every rocket and satellite maker regardless of competition outcomes, making these suppliers essential infrastructure. · Teledyne TechnologiesIt produces sensors and imaging systems for satellites and terrestrial applications alike, embodying the Earth payoff through dual-use revenue streams., HEICOIt supplies aerospace parts across nearly every major program simultaneously, making it a foundational component vendor independent of any single customer's success., MoogIt manufactures the actuators that control spacecraft and rockets, selling to every launcher rather than depending on a single program's success., Curtiss-WrightIt produces ruggedized components for space, defense, and nuclear power systems, touching both the energy and hardware sides of this take simultaneously., Kratos DefenseIt builds defense space hardware with government contracts paying now, meeting the take's requirement for near-term revenue from space spending., Mercury SystemsIt makes space-grade electronics that satellites and defense systems require, selling across the sector with growth dependent on recovering and expanding revenue.30%
- The alloys, composites, and optics that survive orbit are made by a handful of specialists who also serve aviation and energy markets on Earth. · Carpenter TechnologyIt makes the specialty alloys that space hardware and engines are built from, serving launchers and satellite makers whose continued orders sustain growth., ATI IncIt supplies the high-temperature metals that engines and spacecraft cannot be built without, sustained by aerospace and space demand keeping its order book full., HexcelIt produces the lightweight composites that rockets and satellites are physically constructed from, with growth tied to aerospace build rates and production volumes., MaterionIt manufactures specialty materials behind space optics and sensors, with every new imaging satellite representing a customer for its products.20%
- Long-term maintenance of space technology requires in-orbit servicing, logistics, and station infrastructure, supplied by firms that already hold the contracts. · RedwireIt performs the maintenance and servicing that keeps space technology running long term, backed by government contracts converting backlog to revenue in the near term., Intuitive MachinesIt operates lunar delivery missions under NASA contracts, providing servicing revenue today rather than waiting for future development, with growth tied to contract renewals., Voyager TechnologiesIt manufactures station hardware that enables long-term space technology maintenance, with contracts generating near-term revenue as infrastructure stays operational.17%
- Larger companies with dual-use portfolios turn space technology into steady revenue on Earth, providing stability alongside more specialized suppliers. · L3Harris TechnologiesIt builds space payloads and translates that technology into terrestrial contracts, providing the dual-use revenue that anchors this take in near-term reality., HoneywellIt converts aerospace and space technology into revenue across both orbital and Earth-based markets, and its scale stabilizes the take alongside more specialized suppliers., Iridium CommunicationsIt operates satellite communications already collecting revenue from Earthbound customers today, proving the payoff exists now rather than in a distant future.14%
- Energy capture is the foundation: these companies build the solar and nuclear systems that keep spacecraft alive in orbit. · Rocket LabIt builds the solar arrays that power much of what orbits in space, capturing the energy systems this take depends on, with revenue arriving from current contracts rather than extended development timelines.9%
- Companies supporting space infrastructure and enabling commercial space activity. · It manufactures nuclear components for NASA and DARPA's fission surface power and nuclear thermal propulsion programs, providing current revenue from government-funded space nuclear work.3%
- Cash7%