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Space stocks took a winding road over the past week and a half. A selloff in high-growth tech dragged the group lower in October, then Midterm results hit defense-linked names as investors worried a Democratic-controlled Congress could squeeze Pentagon spending.

A wave of NASA lunar awards had nearly every major name up double digits on Monday, and earnings filled in the rest.

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Rocket Lab Raises Neutron Prices

Rocket Lab Corp. (NASDAQ:RKLB) closed Monday at $58.86, up 10.9% heading into its third-quarter report. Revenue reached a record $267.83 million, up 73% year over year and ahead of analyst expectations of $255.71 million, but the loss of 12 cents per share missed estimates for a six-cent loss.

Neutron drew most of the attention. Rocket Lab finished the quarter with a record backlog of $3.57 billion after landing more than $515 million in new Neutron launch deals. The contracts cover eight missions across five constellation operators, and Rocket Lab lifted Neutron’s base launch price to $70 million for several of them as industry launch capacity tightens. Neutron’s first launch remains targeted for no earlier than 2027 after the company pushed it back in October.

Investors focused on the delay at first. Shares slid more than 8% in overnight trading and opened about 6.6% lower Tuesday before recovering to trade slightly higher in early trading. Meanwhile, Cantor Fitzgerald kept an Overweight rating while trimming its price target to $111 from $122. Electron’s 100th mission is set for no earlier than Nov. 14.

AST SpaceMobile Lands Japan Venture, Misses Estimates

AST SpaceMobile Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTS) jumped 14.1% Monday after forming Rakuten AST, a joint venture with Rakuten Group Inc. to build a direct-to-device network in Japan. Benzinga reported the venture received roughly $1 billion in funding from Japan’s Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications.

The quarterly report after the bell landed with less fanfare. AST posted a loss of 44 cents per share against estimates for 40 cents, and revenue of $42.32 million missed the $46.64 million consensus. The company reaffirmed 2026 revenue guidance of $150 million to $200 million.

On Nov. 6, AST agreed to pay Firefly Aerospace Inc. (NASDAQ:FLY) more than $1.3 billion for 36 rocket engines. The engines will power Blacklift, a 20-ton reusable rocket AST plans to start launching in late 2028, and Firefly shares jumped 36.8% that day. Firefly reports third-quarter results after Tuesday’s close.

SpaceX Shakes Off the Midterms

Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (NASDAQ:SPCX) took the hardest political hit in the group. Shares of Elon Musk‘s companies tumbled on Wednesday after the Democratic sweep, even as the S&P 500 climbed.

Musk changed the conversation Friday when he said fourth-quarter revenue should rise about 70% from the third quarter and reiterated SpaceX remains on track for a $100 billion annualized revenue rate in December. 

SpaceX stock added another 5.8% Monday, closing near $142, according to Benzinga Pro.

Lunar Awards Lift Intuitive Machines, Voyager

NASA named vendors for its second Commercial Lunar Payload Services contract over the weekend. CLPS 2 is a 10-year contract with a combined $10 billion ceiling across all awardees, which could rise to $15 billion if NASA exercises a five-year extension. Selected companies become eligible to compete for orders.

Intuitive Machines Inc. (NASDAQ:LUNR) rose 15% to about $12.04 after NASA picked it for the program. Earlier in the window, NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory chose the company to provide the spacecraft for its FALCON-RADAR Earth observation mission. Intuitive Machines reports Thursday.

Voyager Technologies Inc. (NYSE:VOYG) climbed 16.3% Monday on its own CLPS 2 selection. Last week, Voyager reported third-quarter revenue up 124% and lifted the low end of its 2026 sales outlook, now $285 million to $305 million.

NASA also awarded Voyager a five-year, $35 million contract to manage the HUNCH program. Firefly, another CLPS 2 vendor, gained 17.1% Monday.

Redwire and Planet Labs Bounce Back

Redwire Corp. (NYSE:RDW) had a rough start to the stretch. Third-quarter revenue of $109.04 million missed estimates of $125.48 million, though the six-cent loss per share beat expectations. Backlog reached a record $619.7 million, and Redwire affirmed 2026 revenue guidance of $450 million to $500 million.

Three analysts cut targets afterward. Shares recovered 13% Monday, and on Tuesday Redwire disclosed a roughly $40 million award to supply a power generation system for NASA’s moon base effort.

Planet Labs PBC (NYSE:PL) rose 14.5% Monday after signing a multi-launch agreement with reusable rocket developer Stoke Space Technologies. Planet also released the first image from its Pelican-12 satellite.

Blue Origin Delays New Glenn Again

Privately held Blue Origin pushed New Glenn’s return to January 2027 after a May explosion during a hot-fire test badly damaged the company’s Florida launchpad. The setbacks have slowed the buildout of Amazon’s Leo constellation, which relies on Blue Origin for some launches.

Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) remains exposed to the timeline. Separately, Blue Origin CEO Dave Limp told CNBC the company has its first customer for a lunar mission flying in 2028.

What Comes Next

Firefly reports Tuesday evening, and Intuitive Machines follows Thursday morning. Voyager hosts an investor day in Pittsburgh on Dec. 3. Planet Labs reports on Dec. 9.

Photo: UrbanArtr / Shutterstock