A SpaceX IPO, an $8B Rocket Lab–Iridium tie-up and record government launch spending drove the sector to explosive highs by mid-year — before a sharp July reversal erased much of the gains for the most crowded retail names.
Data as of late July 2026 · YTD figures below dated where sourced
| Ticker ↕ | Company ↕ | Segment ↕ | 2026 YTD ↕ | Note |
|---|
RDW Redwire ran as high as roughly +181% YTD in May on Artemis-related buzz, was still up about +65% YTD in early July — then sank an estimated ~40% in July alone as sector sentiment turned, dragging its year-to-date gain sharply lower.
LUNR Intuitive Machines was up roughly +107% YTD in early June on a record $1.1B backlog and a NASA lunar-lander contract, before a ~37% one-month drawdown in June and a further reported ~40% slide in July — a round trip that has erased most of its 2026 gain.
PL Planet Labs gained about +73% over the trailing three months into mid-July on 42% YoY revenue growth and an 81% jump in backlog, holding up better than the launch/lunar names through the pullback.
SPCX SpaceX went public in June at $135/share, popping ~19% on debut to a ~$2.1T valuation — the largest IPO in history — but by late July shares had slipped below the IPO price, pulling the rest of the sector down with it.
The US FY2027 space budget totals $59.7B and funds 31 launches — a step-change from prior years, underpinning backlogs at Rocket Lab ($2.2B) and Intuitive Machines (~$1.1B).
Anticipation of SpaceX's IPO drove a sympathy rally across ASTS, RKLB and SPCE through May–June; the post-listing comedown then dragged the same names lower through July.
Rocket Lab's $8B cash-and-stock bid for Iridium — adding L-band spectrum and 2.5M subscribers — was the month's biggest single catalyst, lifting IRDM sharply.