How to invest in Elon Musk’s SpaceX on the ASX
The global space industry is on track to become a trillion-dollar opportunity. If the Artemis II mission got you excited, here’s where to put your money.
The space race is back. Last week, NASA’s Artemis II mission launched four astronauts further into space than any human before them, slingshotting around the moon and back.
The Lockheed Martin-built Orion capsule isn’t just taking humanity to uncharted terrain; it’s reigniting the Cold War-era fight to establish a sustained presence in space.
But unlike 50 years ago – the first and only time the world succeeded in putting boots on the moon – Space Race 2.0, which is now largely between the US and China, isn’t just being funded by governments.
Some of the world’s richest people – Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk – sniffed out the lucrative industry that is space exploration more than two decades ago, with each launching aerospace companies.
The global space economy hit a record $US613 billion ($870 billion) in 2024, with the commercial sector accounting for 78 per cent of it. By 2035, the global space industry is on track to reach $US1.8 trillion.
Bezos’ and Musk’s businesses are private (at least for now), and so are many of the start-ups and young businesses looking to replicate their commercial success.
But there are other ways for everyday investors to get exposure to the new space race.
Billy Leung, senior investment strategist at exchange traded funds provider Global X, says critical minerals and metals, hardware, infrastructure, defence and robotics are just some of the industries that will support the space economy and benefit from it.
“It’s really hard to say that [space] is a ‘winner-takes-all’ market because it is a full stack,” Leung says. “The investment case is great.”
Unfortunately, there’s no dedicated rocket manufacturer you can buy on the ASX. Australia’s stock exchange – at least as it relates to end-to-end rocket companies like the Nasdaq-listed Rocket Lab – is still relatively barren.
It might not sound as sexy, but if your preference is for direct, listed and local shares, the only way to invest in the space economy is via some of the beneficiary companies that Leung highlighted.
One such company on the ASX is Electro Optic Systems, which, among other things, develops capabilities for space object tracking and satellite laser ranging.
Billy Leung, senior investment strategist at Global X says critical minerals and metals, hardware, infrastructure, defence and robotics are all set to benefit from the space race.
“Investors looking to access the space race need to think beyond pure play rocket companies and focus on the broader ecosystem that makes space strategically and commercially important,” says Jamie Hannah, deputy head of investments and capital markets at VanEck.
“The broader investment case for space is that it is no longer just an aspirational technology story. It is becoming a strategically critical layer of modern defence and national infrastructure.”
If you’re not keen on placing bets on individual stocks, Australia is also home to various defence and aerospace technology ETFs that pool money to buy a basket of public businesses in the defence and aerospace industries.
VanEck, Betashares and Global X all have some version of a defence technology ETF that provides investors with access to the space industry through businesses supplying propulsion, satellites, sensors and mission-critical systems.
All three of these ETFs have seen growth of 30 per cent or more in the past 12 months. Some of the companies likely to be found in these funds include RTX Corporation, one of the world’s largest aerospace and defence companies, or Lockheed Martin – the prime contractor building Artemis’ Orion.
Beyond the US, there are companies such as Hanwha Aerospace, which led the fourth launch of South Korea’s Nuri rocket, marking the country’s first privately led orbital launch.
Local investment firm Pengana Capital also has an offering for Australian investors that’s not through an ETF.
The ASX-listed Pengana Private Equity Trust is a portfolio of global private equity investments – a market historically reserved for institutional investors. It touts itself as being the only way to gain access to Musk’s SpaceX – which is a dedicated spacecraft manufacturer – on the ASX, with almost 14 per cent of the fund allocated to it.
With SpaceX set to go public this year, Pengana doubled its valuation of Musk’s rocket builder to $US800 billion in March and says it intends to hold its prized investment all the way through to the initial public offering – and beyond. Other reports say that SpaceX has boosted its target valuation to more than $US2 trillion.
But you’re not just buying exposure to SpaceX if you invest in Pengana’s fund. You’ll also be buying into software companies, industrials, and even OpenAI.
Investing internationally
The most straightforward way to buy into the main space race is via companies listed overseas, and mainly in the US, which is home to a far greater variety of space-related stocks.
There you’ll find established aerospace and defence companies with massive government contracts, such as the NYSE-listed Lockheed Martin or Boeing – which was behind the launch systems of the Artemis II project – and New Zealand-founded Rocket Lab.
The world’s largest economy, unsurprisingly, is also home to dedicated space ETFs like the ARK Space and Defence Innovation ETF and the iShares US Aerospace and Defence ETF. US shares and ETFs can be bought and sold via an Australian investing platform that provides access to Wall Street, such as Stake, Superhero or Selfwealth. But keep in mind that along with the cost of brokerage, there will also be costs when converting between Australian and US dollars.
Many of these same trading platforms provide direct access to Asian and European markets too, with countries like China reported to be allocating around $US20 billion of its government budget to its space capabilities, according to Leung.
Private market plays
Australian space engineering and technology companies, like Gilmour Space Technologies or Fleet Space, are still private and largely inaccessible to retail investors.
Gold Coast-based Gilmour made its first attempt to launch an Australian-made rocket into orbit last year, but a suspected engine failure caused it to crash back to the ground in seconds.
Still, this was enough to encourage investment of $217 million to help fund future launches, with the company looking to raise even more money.
But that’s not to say there might not be smaller private market opportunities suitable for retail investors in the future.
Platforms like Birchal enable early-stage businesses to crowdfund small amounts of money from a large number of investors and could, in future, host this service for a nascent aerospace business.
Public-private markets
Overseas trading platforms like Forge Global, Notice and EquityZen also give investors the opportunity to buy and sell some of the world’s most in-demand unlisted private companies.
These companies help existing shareholders like founders, employees and venture capitalists sell down stakes in unlisted companies, and while they might look and feel a lot like the ASX, they aren’t regulated share markets.
Secondary market platforms like Forge – whose slogan is “unicorn liquidity has arrived” – are restricted to “accredited investors”, which are those with a minimum income of $US200,000 a year or a net worth of at least $US1 million.
SpaceX has found its way onto Forge’s site, which it has valued at $US605 a share at a valuation of $US1.44 trillion.
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