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3 Space ETFs to Take You to the Moon

Barchart·10/07/2026 09:31:05

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The space industry isn't exactly new. Commercial satellite launches have been around since the 1960s. But 2026's initial public offering of Space Exploration Technologies (SPCX) drummed up renewed interest in what is a rapidly expanding field.

Like with many emergent technologies, investors could try to pick winners and hope they don't hitch their wagons to the names that eventually fizzle out … or they could purchase diversified exchange-traded funds to profit from the growth of the broader industry. That means investing in rocket builders, satellite companies, and other related firms with the click of a single button.

Today, I'll introduce you to a trio of great space ETFs to explore.

Disclaimer: This article does not constitute individualized investment advice. Individual securities, funds, and/or other investments appear for your consideration and not as personalized investment recommendations. Act at your own discretion.

Wall Street's Top Space ETFs

While the commercial space industry has existed in some form since before most of us were born, space ETFs have really only existed for less than a decade.

And they typically share a few common traits:

Similar holdings. The space industry, while hardly nascent, isn't exactly widespread. Most of these ETFs hold only a few dozen companies, and many of them play in the same pool.
Similar sector weights. Along the same lines, space ETFs tend to allocate a huge chunk of their assets to industrial/defense companies, with the rest going to communications and technology firms.
Similar fees. "Thematic" funds that focus on specific investment opportunities that span a few different sectors often charge more than broad-market funds. All of the funds here assess annual fees between 0.35% and 0.75% annually, with several charging that top-end number.

That doesn't mean there aren't meaningful variations now—but like with many thematic funds, these space ETFs will likely differentiate themselves even more if and when the space industry expands.

With that, let's look at three picks from my broader look at Wall Street's best space ETFs.

ETFs are listed in order of assets under management (AUM), from largest to smallest.

Ark Space & Defense Innovation ETF

Inception: March 30, 2021
Assets under management: $753.4 million
Expense ratio: 0.75%, or $7.50 per year on every $1,000 invested

Cathie Wood's actively managed Ark Space & Defense Innovation ETF (ARKX) was a relatively early entrant into the space race at its 2021 launch, and its $750 million in AUM makes it the largest of the space ETFs right now.

When I initially covered this fund's launch years ago, it was known as the ARK Space Exploration & Innovation ETF, but in 2025, it changed its moniker to Space & Defense—but this didn't herald a strategy pivot so much as it better reflected what the fund already owned.

ARKX holds companies focused on either space or defense innovation, which ARK Investment Management defines as "leading, enabling, or benefiting from technologically enabled products and/or services that occur beyond the surface of the Earth." The 35-stock portfolio focuses on technologies such as autonomous mobility, intelligent devices, 3D printing, advanced batteries, reusable rockets, and more.

Ark Space & Defense Innovation ETF is big on industrials (60% of assets) and technology (26%), with the rest of its funds scattered across consumer discretionary, communication, and even healthcare companies. SpaceX is unsurprisingly the top holding, but its declines since coming public have reduced its weight to about 11% right now. But ARKX is also thick in defense companies such as L3Harris Technologies (LHX), Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (KTOS), and drone specialist AeroVironment (AVAV).

Perhaps the most initially head-scratching component is top-10 holding Deere (DE) … but the tractor maker partnered with SpaceX in 2024 to provide satellite communications to farmers. So there's that.

Because ARKX and other ARK Invest ETFs are actively managed, it's important to keep tabs on personnel. On that front, there are some concerns to keep in mind.

"In recent years, the firm has taken concrete steps to reduce its reliance on [Wood]," Morningstar Principal Robby Greengold says. “But the firm hasn't yet made much tangible progress in easing its key-person risk or strengthening its risk culture, warranting a Below Average Parent rating. The firm's analysts often don't stick around. Wood remains the only team member with hands-on portfolio management experience. The firm has struggled to develop and retain investment team talent; only four of its analysts have tenures greater than five years.”

State Street SPDR S&P Kensho Final Frontiers ETF

Inception: Oct. 22, 2018
Assets under management: $175.4 million
Expense ratio: 0.45%, or $4.50 per year on every $1,000 invested

The State Street SPDR S&P Kensho Final Frontiers ETF (ROKT) actually predates all of the other space-specific funds on this list, and it's also one of the least expensive ways to invest in the industry.

But you'll want to pay close attention to one of the words in its name: "frontiers." As in "more than one." Let's take a look at the product description page (emphasis mine):

"[ROKT] seeks to track an index utilizing artificial intelligence and a quantitative weighting methodology to capture companies whose products and services are driving innovation behind the exploration of the final frontiers, which includes the areas of outer space and the deep sea."

OK, so it's not a pure play on the Milky Way.

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The fund does hold plenty of space stocks, including Planet Labs (PL), an Earth imaging company; aerospace manufacturer and space infrastructure tech firm Redwire (RDW); global satellite communications network operator Iridium Communications (IRDM), and more. But they've largely shifted to the bottom of the portfolio amid the recent decline in space stocks. Currently, top holdings are a motley crew including oilfield products and services provider Forum Energy Technologies (FET), Collins Aerospace parent RTX Corp. (RTX), and aircraft giant Boeing (BA). And yes, the ETF holds deep-sea firms, including subsea robotics specialist Oceaneering International (OII).

Industrial stocks broadly (and defense companies specifically) are a big part of most space ETFs. But they're an even greater influence on ROKT than they are elsewhere, as State Street's ETF allocates two-thirds of assets to the sector. I say that to say this: U.S. and other nations' defense spending will also have a say in these funds' performance, but perhaps Final Frontiers more than most.

To its credit, though, ROKT has been one of the best space ETFs of the past few years.

VanEck Space ETF

Inception: May 6, 2026
Assets under management: $44.1 million
Expense ratio: 0.50%, or $5.00 per year on every $1,000 invested

The VanEck Space ETF (WARP) is another pure-play space ETF that came out in spring 2026, ahead of the SPCX offering.

This is a relatively inexpensive passive product that tracks the MarketVector Space Index, which owns the companies behind launch systems, satellite infrastructure, Earth observation, and space data, with a stated goal of avoiding “the typical dominance of aerospace and defense names.”

Avoiding those names leaves WARP with an extremely tight portfolio of around 20 holdings, and it’s highly concentrated in SpaceX and rival RocketLab (RKLB), which collectively account for more than a third of its assets. That has so far been a detriment to VanEck’s fund, whose $44 million in assets are roughly half of what they were at their June peak.

From a sector standpoint, VanEck Space ETF is half invested in satellite and related communication companies, and another 40% invested in other industrials, with virtually all of the rest in tech.

The 0.50% expense ratio isn’t the lowest fee in the group, but it’s cheaper than most.

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