The space race of the 1960s was a contest between two nations fuelled by Cold War ideology. The space race of 2026 is a contest between corporations fuelled by commercial ambition โ moving faster and with far greater long-term consequence than anything before.
Elon Musk's SpaceX accounts for more than half of all orbital launches worldwide. The Starship system โ the largest and most powerful rocket ever built โ has completed six successful crewed missions and is the vehicle contracted to return Americans to the Moon under NASA's Artemis programme.
Blue Origin has finally begun commercial operations on its New Glenn rocket. Rocket Lab has established itself as the dominant player in small satellite launches. Audi's Isar Aerospace startup is building fully reusable rockets that could further reduce launch costs.
We are at the beginning of the industrial revolution of space. The companies that establish infrastructure in low Earth orbit in the next five years will define the economic landscape of the next century.