Starfighters, Rocket Lab, Karman and BlackSky Move on Space Force Spending Surge

by Clarence Oxford
Los Angeles, CA (SPX) May 04, 2026
A $71 billion U.S. Space Force budget, including $40 billion earmarked for research and development of new space infrastructure, is straining the industrial supply chain faster than it can absorb capital, driving consolidation of investment toward a handful of propulsion, composites, and flight-test companies positioned closest to the constraint.

Aerospace and defense thermoplastic composites demand rose 32 percent year over year to $731 million in 2026, highlighting a widening gap between defense industrial base requirements and available supply. The chairman of the House Armed Services Committee confirmed at the 41st Space Symposium that a $1 trillion baseline defense budget is now the permanent planning floor, underpinning programs including Golden Dome, proliferated satellite constellations, and hypersonic vehicle development. The Pentagon separately awarded $150 million to modernize instrumentation at Reagan Test Range, its primary facility for validating hypersonic and reentry systems, signaling that flight-test throughput has become the binding constraint across the broader value chain.

Starfighters Space (NYSE-A: FJET) announced at the 41st Space Symposium an expanded technical interchange agreement with Blackstar Orbital that broadens their collaboration beyond initial vehicle integration. The updated agreement covers integration engineering, carriage and release simulations, wind tunnel testing, telemetry and data systems, safety planning, and range coordination for Blackstar's SpaceDrone reusable hypersonic spacecraft on the Starfighters F-104 platform. Starfighters has already transferred physical hardware to support the evaluation phase, including a BL-75 complete assembly, counterbalance, sway braces, and a jettison piston at the Shuttle Landing Facility. Any transition from feasibility into active flight testing requires a separate written agreement.

"This collaboration now covers a broader technical work program than vehicle integration alone," said Tim Franta, CEO of Starfighters Space. Christopher Jannette, CEO of Blackstar Orbital, said the expanded interchange gives Blackstar "a structured path to validate vehicle interfaces, operational conditions, data requirements, and release planning" with the F-104.

Starfighters also signed an agreement with Mu-G Technologies to pursue microgravity flight missions for NASA, universities, and commercial research customers, and expanded its Texas presence at Midland International Air and Space Port, where it now stages four F-104 aircraft and 14 engines with plans to double that footprint within 18 months. The company completed wind tunnel testing for its STARLAUNCH 1 air-launch rocket program, confirming clean vehicle separation with no adverse aerodynamic interactions ahead of Critical Design Review. Starfighters operates the only commercial fleet in the free world capable of carrying underwing test payloads at sustained speeds above Mach 2.

Rocket Lab (NASDAQ: RKLB) introduced Gauss, an in-house Hall thruster electric propulsion system targeting high-volume production for commercial and national security satellite constellations. The manufacturing line is designed to produce more than 200 thrusters per year. Gauss incorporates heaterless cathode technology for instantaneous start, magnetic shielding to extend operational lifetime, GaNFet-based electronics, and an ITAR/EAR-free design suited to a wide range of low-Earth orbit constellation applications. The system delivers higher specific impulse than traditional chemical propulsion, enabling spacecraft to carry less propellant on long-duration and station-keeping missions.

Karman (NYSE: KRMN) posted record fiscal year 2025 results with annual revenue of $471.5 million, up 36.6 percent year over year, non-GAAP adjusted EBITDA of $145.3 million, up 36.9 percent, and a record backlog of $801.1 million, up 38.2 percent. Fourth-quarter revenue of $134.5 million grew 47.4 percent year over year, with net income rising 358 percent to $7.7 million. The company raised its 2026 revenue guidance to $715 million to $730 million and adjusted EBITDA guidance to $207 million to $218 million, citing expanded composites and resin systems capabilities following the acquisition of Seemann Composites and MSC. Karman upsized its revolving credit facility to $150 million to support continued expansion.

BlackSky Technology (NYSE: BKSY) was awarded a multi-year, sole-source $99 million U.S. government indefinite-delivery indefinite-quantity contract for advanced space capabilities, with an initial $2 million task order to accelerate design of a large aperture optical payload for Earth observation and space domain awareness. The contract targets innovations in optical imaging, high-cadence Earth monitoring, and object tracking across low Earth, geostationary, and cis-lunar orbits beyond current Gen-2 and Gen-3 capabilities. Satellites developed under the program are expected to function as on-orbit data storage and processing hubs compatible with AI-enabled communications environments and future launch vehicles.

Hexcel (NYSE: HXL) marked the roll-out of the Dassault Aviation Falcon 10X business jet, for which Hexcel supplies structural prepregs for the entire wing. Hexcel was selected to the program in 2022, and its M21E/IMA prepreg, developed in collaboration with Dassault's technical teams, is designed to provide the weight savings, stiffness, and fatigue resistance required by the wing structure.