10 US space startups moving from funded hardware to operational missions by 2027
Launch, orbital logistics, satellite production and lunar mobility companies face a year of costly, measurable execution tests.
By Ryan Merket · Published
Why it matters
Private space capital is concentrating around companies with flight hardware and government buyers. By 2027, schedules and mission results will separate infrastructure suppliers from funded prototypes.
Ten US space startups are entering the second half of 2026 with enough capital, contracts and flight hardware to make 2027 an execution year rather than another planning cycle.
The founders include former SpaceX propulsion chief Tom Mueller, former Space Force operator Even Rogers, lunar robotics veteran Jaret Matthews and brothers Karan and Neel Kunjur. Their companies span reusable rockets, commercial stations, satellite factories, orbital servicing and lunar vehicles.
This list is not a ranking. It favors US-based startups with recent financing, government or commercial contracts, hardware in testing or orbit, and a specific milestone that can be measured by the end of 2027. Company-supplied schedules and performance figures are identified as such.
1. Stoke Space
Andy Lapsa and Tom Feldman founded Stoke Space in 2019 around a technical decision most rocket startups avoided: make both stages reusable from the beginning. Its Nova rocket uses a reusable upper stage with an actively cooled metallic heat shield, a design intended to return payloads as well as carry them to orbit.