Space: The Final (Investment) Frontier - Windrock Wealth Management

We are on the dawn of the space economy in 2026. This represents a generational investment opportunity, akin to the early internet era, when initial skepticism gave way to transformative economic growth. Space is poised to be the foundation for a multi-trillion-dollar economy encompassing connectivity, energy, artificial intelligence (AI) computing, and defense into a new orbital economy. The global AI technology race will likely be won in space as the blurring of lines between previously distinct industries accelerates into one strategic sector.

Historical Parallels and Misunderstood Potential

Major technological revolutions often begin with limited perceived-use cases, only to explode into ubiquitous platforms. The internet, initially dismissed as a tool for academic communication, evolved into e-commerce, streaming, and cloud computing, creating trillions in market value. Similarly, space is vastly misunderstood today. Many view it as confined to government contracts or niche telecommunications, but its potential mirrors the internet’s expansion enabling global connectivity, energy, AI, and new markets. Space is likely underestimated for its potential, making it one of the highest potential growth industries of our lifetimes.

Led by visionary Elon Musk, space excites the “sci-fi” possibilities that fuel investors’ imagination: think solar satellites beaming AI-powered services to Earth or high-speed, global travel. Revolutionary companies such as Amazon proved that investors are willing to bet on the long-term vision of builders with bold vision. Amazon transformed from an online used book website to delivering same-day packages globally as an online retailing and logistics giant. The innovations in space are already shocking, including technical breakthroughs like reusable rocketry which massively reduced costs. These launch costs have fallen from roughly $10k to $60k per kilogram for low-Earth orbit (using traditional expendable rockets), to around $1,500 to $2,000 per kilogram with current reusable launch vehicles.[1] National defense will accelerate space usage with real-time satellite data, drones, and defensive shields such as the Golden Dome missile defense system proposed by President Trump.

In the world ahead, slow-moving government agencies like NASA are out and private market entrepreneurs are in. In our minds, this quasi-private, quasi-government partnership to future profits in space is akin to investing in the fabled British East India Company of its time. This company was private but supported by the British royal family in 1600 to capitalize on the world’s new global trade routes. It became one of the most powerful and influential companies in history.

Investment Framework

The industries related to space are as nearly expansive as space itself. Investors must create a framework to think about the many industries collectively converging in the space sector. Here are five key areas to contemplate:

1. Orbital Launch

Early movers, including examples like SpaceX, have already created a competitive moat by largely owning a full road to space that other firms must travel through, not unlike how railroads dominated 19th-century logistics. Plummeting orbital launch costs have vastly changed the economics and viability of utilizing and deploying satellites. In the next decade, Elon Musk addresses potentially 10,000 Starship (the heavy-lunch reusable rocket currently being tested) launches will occur per year.[2]

2. Satellites and Communication

Satellites already form the backbone of internet connectivity for Wi-Fi firms such as Starlink which currently has an estimated constellation of approximately 10,000 satellites in orbit. SpaceX recently submitted an application to the Federal Communications Commission for approval of a staggering one million satellite constellation.[3] Its purpose: to harness solar power for AI which would be relayed back to Earth. With the future proliferation of self-driving cars, autonomous robots, and other such systems, geo-tracking and navigation with data from satellites will be a critical asset.

3. Solar Energy

Most power in space can be harnessed from satellites nearly five-times more effectively in space due to constant sunlight, the lack of clouds or other atmospheric disruptions, and natural cooling provided by the coldness of space.[4] Furthermore, solar panels on satellites do not require costly batteries for nighttime operation which drive costs down by a factor of ten over time.[5] Musk sees this as the only long-term solution for humanity to scale the energy required for AI as systems surge through 2030.[6] The economic potential is so great someday we may even see satellites and solar equipment manufactured on the moon by robots.

4. Infrastructure

Equipment and components will be critical to unleash the potential of space. This includes components needed in rocket technology, orbital data centers, solar panels, communication systems, and radiation-tolerant hardware and distributed architecture.

5. Defense

National defense interests permeate the entire space sector as all of these technologies will likely entail key public-private partnerships to advance both defense systems and private industry ambitions.

Positive Catalysts in 2026: SpaceX IPO and Beyond

2026 is poised to be a pivotal year with catalysts accelerating the space race and investor interest. Foremost is SpaceX’s expected IPO, potentially the largest in history with an anticipated IPO value of approximately $1.5 trillion.[7] Second, the AI race is changing geopolitics with nations devoting increasing resources to strategic aims that include defense and space dominance. Driven by American ambitions, space is part of a broader strategy to dominate the AI and technology race while expanding Space Force to protect from above.

President Trump signed an executive order in the fall of 2025 that included the Genesis Mission directing the Department of Energy to have their seventeen labs collaborate with private industry for the advancement of scientific development.[8] New technologies and discoveries are likely to be unleashed with this AI-enabled platform. These efforts are not unlike the U.S. government’s role in kickstarting many of the foundational technologies that became what we know as the internet.

Investing in space is betting on humanity’s next frontier, where engineering prowess meets visionary ambition. 2026’s catalysts, led by SpaceX’s IPO, will propel the industry from mere imagination to reality. Space offers the rare chance to capture the “next economy” before it is well-understood. For investors, the message is clear: position now, or risk missing the rocket ship.

Endnotes

[1] Hieber, Samuel. “Space Technology: Rocket Reusability and the Collapse of Launch Costs.” Acquinox Capital, July 11, 2025. https://acquinox.capital/blog/space-technology-rocket-reusability-and-the-collapse-of-launch-costs.

[2] Patel, Dwarkesh, and John Collison. “Elon Musk – In 36 Months, the Cheapest Place to Put AI Will Be Space.” YouTube video, February 5, 2026. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BYXbuik3dgA.

[3 ] Davies, Maia. “Elon Musk’s SpaceX Applies to Launch 1M Satellites into Orbit.” BBC News, January 31, 2026. https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cyv5l24mrjmo.

[4] Patel, Dwarkesh, and John Collison. “Elon Musk – In 36 Months, the Cheapest Place to Put AI Will Be Space.” YouTube video, February 5, 2026. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BYXbuik3dgA.

[5] Ibid.

[6] Ibid.

[7] Reuters. “SpaceX Weighs June 2026 IPO at $1.5 Trillion Valuation, FT Says.” Reuters, January 28, 2026. https://www.reuters.com/science/spacex-weighs-june-2026-ipo-15-trillion-valuation-ft-reports-2026-01-28/.

[8] The White House. “Launching the Genesis Mission.” The White House, November 24, 2025. https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/11/launching-the-genesis-mission/.

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