The Push — In-Space Propulsion
Every satellite that lives more than 18 months needs to maneuver. Pure-play public exposure is unusually thin.
Once in orbit, atmospheric drag and orbital mechanics push your satellite off station. Stationkeeping requires propulsion. Two flavors: chemical thrusters (instant, high-thrust) and electric/ion/Hall-effect thrusters (slow, fuel-efficient, ideal for stationkeeping). Aerojet Rocketdyne was the dominant US chemical-propulsion house until L3Harris acquired it in 2023 for $4.7B . Moog is the next-largest public supplier. Hall-thruster specialists Busek and Phase Four remain private. Rocket Lab introduced its Gauss electric thruster in Q1 2026. Cleanest public exposure today is via L3Harris and Moog — both diversified conglomerates.
As constellations proliferate, every satellite needs propulsion. Volume is exploding; pure-play public access is rare. Solid rocket motors (Golden Dome interceptors) are in critical shortage — only Aerojet and Northrop's ATK qualify domestically.
2 names on the watchlist
Owns Aerojet Rocketdyne — dominant US chemical & electric in-space propulsion, plus SRMs
L3Harris absorbed the dominant US chemical propulsion supplier in 2023 — engines on the Centaur upper stage, in-space attitude-control thrusters on most NASA missions, the RS-25 SSME for SLS, and solid rocket motors for missile-defense interceptors . Aerojet's electric propulsion (XR-5 Hall thrusters) is a primary candidate for proliferated-LEO. L3Harris is also a prime on multiple PWSA tranches.
Motion-control components for the entire satellite-prime universe
Supplies motion-control components — propulsion thrusters, valves, slip rings, fluid control — to satellite primes worldwide. Repeat business with essentially every public and private satellite builder.