Space Force Launch, Security Needs Fuel Boom in Space Contracts

A steady increase in space procurement has boosted US defense capabilities over the last decade, and concerns over the prospect of nuclear weapon-equipped Russian satellites may drive more spending.

US Space Force procurement has grown faster than other federal agencies’ space-related contract spending since the service’s inception in 2019. It’s projected to hit a high of $18 billion this fiscal year, according to Bloomberg Government data.

NASA clearly leads all civilian agencies in the market, defined by BGOV analysts as including vehicles, launch, payloads, and ground stations and excluding missiles and missile defense.

The space market’s top-performing vendors were ...