In-Space Manufacturing & Commercial Stations

Merck shares rose approximately 1.0% to $146.39 Thursday as the pharmaceutical and oncology heavyweight entered the next era of commercial space research, with its blockbuster cancer drug Keytruda already benefiting from work conducted in orbit. Research aboard the International Space Station helped scientists better understand protein crystallization, contributing to the development of a faster subcutaneous formulation of Keytruda, and NASA's research overview explains that microgravity can produce larger and more orderly protein crystals, potentially giving researchers clearer structural information. As the ISS approaches retirement, commercial stations could offer drugmakers dedicated equipment and more predictable research schedules, although regulators still lack a purpose-built approval framework for medicines manufactured in space. The commercial stakes are already enormous: Keytruda generated about $8.37 billion of Merck's latest $16.61 billion quarter, roughly half of total revenue, while the subcutaneous version contributed $463 million, or around 5.5% of Keytruda sales. At $146.39, Merck trades 21.85% above its GF Value estimate of $120.14, signaling that investors are already paying a meaningful premium to the model's estimate of fair value.

Redwire Corporation is expanding its microgravity capabilities beyond traditional space missions into scientific research, biotechnology and advanced manufacturing. The company has built a growing microgravity platform with 11 active payload facilities on the International Space Station as of Dec. 31, 2025, and has launched 42 Pharmaceutical In-space Laboratory – Bio-crystal Optimization eXperiment, or PIL-BOX, payloads. During 2025, Redwire entered a licensing agreement with ExesaLibero Pharma under which it is eligible to receive royalties from commercial sales of resulting pharmaceutical products. Bristol Myers Squibb and Eli Lilly have both partnered with Redwire on PIL-BOX missions to study pharmaceutical molecules and crystal growth in microgravity. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2026 and 2027 earnings per share suggests year-over-year growth of 57.32% and 40%, respectively, while Redwire trades at a forward 12-month price-to-sales of 4.92X versus an industry average of 2.29X.

SpaceX's Starfall, a business that returns manufactured goods from Earth orbit, has signed a mission contract with European integrator company Space Cargo, securing the venture's first customer. Space Cargo CEO Nicolas Gaume told Reuters that the company aims to conduct an atmospheric reentry in 2028 as the first commercial mission of SpaceX's giant spacecraft Starship, and that it plans to use Starfall, a disc-shaped capsule designed to carry materials to low orbit and return them to Earth. Luxembourg-based Space Cargo plans to install its BentoBox system aboard Starfall, establishing itself as an integrator in the SpaceX program and planning to sign many more similar missions going forward. Gaume said, "With current systems we transport 200 kilograms, but using Starship and Starfall, we will be able to transport in tons. That is exactly what we are aiming for."

Jim Cramer picked Space Exploration Technologies Corp. as his fantasy flex player on the September 8 episode of Mad Money, citing the company's multi-faceted growth across rockets, Starlink and AI. SpaceX reported second-quarter total revenue of $7.8 billion, up over 90% year-over-year and beating Wall Street estimates by nearly $1 billion, with a Q2 GAAP EPS of -$0.09 that also outperformed estimates. The connectivity segment, supported by Starlink, reached 12 million subscribers, while enterprise and government demand pushed segment revenue higher, and the stock trades at roughly 50x to 68x forward sales estimates with a market capitalization hovering near $2 trillion. The company still reported a net loss of $541 million for the quarter, with quarterly capital expenditures running at nearly $18.4 billion to fund Starship manufacturing and orbital compute infrastructure alongside Connectivity and Space operations. Insider Monkey's database of over 1000 hedge funds shows 119 hedge funds held SpaceX during Q2, with VY Capital holding the most prominent position at 271.8 million shares, followed by BAMCO Inc. with nearly 145.8 million shares.

SpaceX CFO Bret Johnsen said the company is targeting its first orbital compute satellites for next year, with huge amounts of compute going into space by 2028. Speaking Thursday at the Goldman Sachs Communacopia & Tech conference, Johnsen said the timeline is far shorter than people had expected. He also said another Starship flight later this month will be revenue-generating and carry production V3 Starlink satellites. Evercore ISI analyst Kutgun Maral reiterated an Outperform rating on the stock, saying the roadmap is getting more specific but Starship cadence and reuse remain the common execution dependency across broadband, Mobile and orbital compute. SpaceX shares rallied from an intraday low of $104.83 on Aug. 3 to nearly $150 this month, against a record high of $225.64 reached shortly after its June public market debut, while its second-quarter capital expenditures of $18.4 billion came in well above analyst estimates of around $6 billion.

SpaceX has set a launch date for its plan to run AI data centers in orbit, with CEO Elon Musk announcing that the first AI satellites, powered by Nvidia chips, will start launching in the final quarter of 2027 and reach real scale in 2028. Each satellite is designed to function as a data center in space, and SpaceX eventually aims to fly as many as 1 million of these satellites. While startups like Starcloud are also pursuing orbital data centers, SpaceX holds a unique advantage: it owns the rockets that rivals depend on to reach orbit. This advantage becomes critical in 2029, when Falcon 9 rideshare slots are expected to dry up as SpaceX shifts to Starship, potentially leaving competitors without launch options. SpaceX's second-quarter fiscal 2026 earnings showed revenue of $7.8 billion, up 92% year-over-year, with adjusted EBITDA of $3.5 billion, up 191%, and capital expenditures of about $18.4 billion. The company holds around $100 billion in cash and expects to reach a $100 billion annualized revenue run rate by the end of 2026, with an internal projection for $1 trillion in revenue moved up to 2030. Analysts have a consensus "Moderate Buy" rating on SpaceX stock, with a mean price target of $217.85, reflecting 54% potential upside.

SpaceX stock climbed 3% to $139.06 midday Tuesday after Elon Musk said the company's first orbital data center launch would move up to the fourth quarter of 2027, a year earlier than previously planned. JPMorgan analyst Doug Anmuth maintained an Overweight rating and a $240 price target on SpaceX, implying roughly 75% upside from current levels. Musk said the space-optimized Vera Rubin NVL72 system is being co-designed with NVIDIA for orbital deployment, with significant scale expected in 2028. JPMorgan also said it is increasingly positive on Grok following SpaceX's $60 billion acquisition of AI coding platform Cursor, which is expected to close in the third quarter of 2026. The move was a single-name repricing rather than a sector rotation, as the Procure Space ETF rose just 0.1% and peers like Rocket Lab and AST SpaceMobile did not participate.

Starcloud, the company pioneering data centers in space, announced a $250 million Series A extension funding round at a $2.3 billion post-money valuation. The round was led by Manhattan West, with participation from existing investors Benchmark, EQT, Soma, NFX, 776, and others, alongside new investors NVIDIA, Cisco Investments, Cedar Capital, Goanna Capital, Standard Capital, and others. The funding brings Starcloud's total capital raised to $450 million since its founding in 2024. Starcloud and NVIDIA are collaborating on the NVIDIA Space-1 Vera Rubin Module, building on the company's November 2025 flight of the first NVIDIA H100 GPU to orbit aboard its Starcloud-1 satellite. The additional capital will fund continued buildout of manufacturing capacity, engineering work in collaboration with NVIDIA, and procurement of future launch allocation.

Redwire Corporation reported record second-quarter 2026 results, with revenue of $117.1 million, an 89.6% year-over-year increase and a 20.7% sequential gain, driven by strong contributions from the Defense Tech segment and scaled production. Non-GAAP gross margin reached a record 27.8%, reflecting a shift from development to production and higher-margin Defense Tech contributions. Contracted backlog hit a record $542.1 million, up 64.5% year over year, and the company reaffirmed full-year 2026 revenue guidance of $450 million to $500 million. Total liquidity stood at $607.8 million, including $557.7 million in cash and cash equivalents, while total debt fell 75% year over year to $48.9 million. Redwire also announced a purchase agreement for a SpaceX Starfall spacecraft capable of carrying 32 PIL-BOXes for microgravity pharmaceutical research, launching in 2028.

Voyager Technologies raised its full-year 2026 revenue guidance to a range of $275 million to $305 million, reflecting the integration of the Astrobotic acquisition and strong core performance. The company reported record second-quarter revenue of $52.7 million, up 51% sequentially, and record bookings of $113 million, driving backlog to a record $335.5 million. Golden Dome-related awards totaled $84.3 million across five technology platforms, while the Astrobotic acquisition, completed in July, is expected to contribute $40 million to $50 million in the second half of 2026. Voyager ended the quarter with $429 million of cash and cash equivalents, approximately $212 million of available borrowing capacity, and total liquidity of approximately $641 million. The company also reported a net loss of $46.5 million and an adjusted EBITDA loss of $37.5 million, reflecting increased innovation spending and scaling of the Starlab segment.

Voyager Technologies reported record second-quarter results, with revenue rising 15% year over year to $53 million and bookings reaching $113 million, driving a 2.1 times book-to-bill ratio and a record backlog of $336 million. The company raised its full-year 2026 revenue guidance to a range of $275 million to $305 million, including an expected $40 million to $50 million contribution from its recently acquired lunar-services company Astrobotic. CEO Dylan Taylor said $84 million of the quarter's bookings were tied to the Golden Dome missile-defense initiative, while Astrobotic adds nearly $300 million in NASA awards that are not yet reflected in the backlog. CFO Phil De Sousa noted that adjusted EBITDA was a loss of $38 million, modestly ahead of internal expectations, as the company continues to invest heavily in R&D and production capacity. Voyager also disclosed that its Starlab commercial space station venture has secured more than $500 million in signed commercial reservations, approaching $600 million.

Lockheed Martin has selected Gravitics to support a U.S. Department of War contract of national importance. Gravitics, an orbital infrastructure company, announced the selection as a meaningful milestone, with Chief Business Officer Michael Bowker emphasizing disciplined execution for critical national security priorities. The company's role reflects its growing position in the U.S. space and defense industrial base.

Pluristyx, Inc. and Wake Forest Advocate Health have launched a consortium to develop a standardized, clinical-grade hepatocyte manufacturing workflow for both terrestrial and orbital applications. The initiative includes the Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine, Innovian Space, and the RegenMed Development Organization, and aims to create a scalable supply chain of liver cells for bridge-to-transplantation therapies. The project aligns with NASA's In-Space Production Applications program, with process optimization and initial validation targeted for December 2026 and full InSPA Phase 2 readiness for orbital deployment in April 2027. Pluristyx will provide induced pluripotent stem cell technologies and hepatocyte differentiation protocols, while partners contribute tissue engineering, commercialization strategy, and space biomanufacturing expertise. The manufactured cells will undergo functional validation for liver-specific outputs such as albumin production and bilirubin clearance.

UBS projects the global space economy’s total addressable market could reach $1.3 trillion by 2040, representing annualised growth of about 7%. The estimate was reduced by one-third from a potential $2 trillion scenario to account for delays and technical hurdles. Satellite Industry Association data valued the narrower global space economy at $429 billion in 2025, up 3% from the previous year, with commercial satellites generating $303 billion and representing 71% of the total. Ground equipment was the largest segment at $165.2 billion, followed by satellite services at $105 billion, while consumer applications including satellite television, radio, and broadband accounted for $80.2 billion of service revenue. Lower launch costs, which could fall below $250 per kilogram by 2040 from roughly $1,500 to $2,000 currently, are expected to support expansion in satellite communications, Earth observation, space logistics, and emerging applications. National security spending is another major growth driver, with the proposed US Space Force budget rising 30% to $49.6 billion for fiscal 2027 and Germany committing €35 billion to space assets by 2030. Longer-term opportunities include private orbital stations, space-based manufacturing, lunar infrastructure, and orbital data centres, though many remain technically unproven and require substantial external funding. Venture investment reached $11.6 billion across 430 space-technology deals during 2026 through early July, already matching the total recorded in 2025.

Voyager Technologies has completed its acquisition of Astrobotic Technology, renaming it Voyager Lunar Systems, and simultaneously announced that the newly acquired unit has been awarded task orders worth roughly $298 million from NASA. The contract covers two lunar lander missions under an indefinite delivery/indefinite-quantity framework as part of NASA's three-phase program to build a permanent Moon base, with phase one running until 2029. Voyager Lunar Systems will deliver foundational instruments, structures, and systems including the LunaGrid solar energy and wireless power network and inflatable habitation structures from partner Max Space. The acquisition, valued at up to $300 million in cash and stock, was first announced in early June and closed rapidly. Despite the positive news, Voyager's stock fell nearly 5% on Monday amid concerns over deepening losses and rising debt, including a recent $250 million credit facility and a $435 million convertible notes offering.

SpaceX has unveiled Terafab, a semiconductor venture in partnership with Tesla, xAI, and Intel, aimed at producing chips for artificial intelligence data centers in orbit. The project begins with a prototype fab in Austin and a larger complex planned in Texas, with Intel contributing its next-generation 14A manufacturing process. SpaceX estimates the initial investment at about $55 billion and the total build-out at up to $119 billion. A large share of Terafab's output is intended for space-based AI data centers, leveraging abundant solar power and easier cooling in orbit. The venture extends SpaceX's strategy of putting infrastructure in space, but it remains an early-stage plan with no chip revenue expected for years.

Amentum Holdings, through its joint venture with Aerodyne Industries called ASCEND, has been awarded NASA's Consolidated Spaceflight Mission Operations and Systems, or COSMOS, contract. The contract will provide mission operations, systems engineering, and training support to the Flight Operations Directorate at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston. Work will support the International Space Station, the Artemis lunar exploration program, and the Orion and Space Launch System programs. Amentum will facilitate astronaut and instructor training, flight controller readiness, and the development of mockup environments for deep-space missions.

SpaceX has secured a three-year contract to provide $920 million per month in AI processing services to Alphabet’s Google division starting this October. The deal marks a major expansion for SpaceX’s AI segment, which generated roughly $3.2 billion in revenue in 2025, accounting for about 17% of the company’s total $18.7 billion in revenue. SpaceX is also developing orbital data centers to revolutionize AI infrastructure by leveraging direct solar energy and its low-cost rocket launches, though significant engineering and maintenance challenges remain. The company’s S-1 prospectus estimates that AI technologies and services represent $26.5 trillion of its $28.5 trillion total addressable market.

SpaceX successfully tested a previously undisclosed cargo return vehicle called Starfall on Tuesday, launching it aboard a Falcon 9 from Cape Canaveral. The disc-shaped pod, measuring 10.2 feet wide and 2.5 feet tall, is designed to carry up to 1 metric ton of cargo from low-Earth orbit back to Earth's surface and is recoverable for reuse. The Pentagon has been pursuing point-to-point space cargo delivery, and Starfall's demonstration gives SpaceX a working vehicle ahead of competitors like Rocket Lab, Blue Origin, and Inversion Space, which are still in development. The vehicle also positions SpaceX to serve the emerging commercial in-space manufacturing market, where companies like Varda Space Industries are targeting pharmaceutical production in microgravity. While the technology validates SpaceX's long-term potential, Starfall is not expected to materially impact near-term financial results, leaving valuation as the primary concern for investors.