Space is critical to the security of the United States. The US military and intelligence services rely heavily on the functioning of a vast fleet of satellites that orbit the Earth. Without the constant stream of communications the satellites facilitate, the photographs they take, or the targeting data they deliver, the functioning of the military would be crippled and the security of the US compromised.
As John F. Plumb, assistant secretary of defense for space policy, puts it, “For the Department of Defense space is essential to how we compete and fight in every domain. It provides us with a missile warning and missile tracking critical to defending our homeland. It provides position navigation and timing to strike targets with precision. And it provides communication in austere environments to support global command and control. To put it simply, space-based missions are essential to the U.S. way of war.”
A Growing Threat
China has been investing heavily in its space capabilities hoping to challenge the dominance of US command. China nearly doubled its number of satellites in orbit in the last few years. In 2019 China had 250 in operation, by 2021 that number was 499.
Intelligence shows China testing myriad technologies that could destroy, disable, or hijack enemy satellites. They have also successfully tested what is essentially a refueling tanker for satellites, extending the life of the satellites they already have in orbit.
They’ve even tested a robotic arm that could grab satellites and “throw” them out of orbit.
US Response
The Pentagon is aware of the threat and its grave nature and has responded with billions of dollars marked for R&D to create technologies to counter the threat.
The president’s $33.3 billion space budget for fiscal year 2024 invests in the capabilities necessary to meet these challenges, according to Plumb, a 15% increase YOY.
Investing In Space
With billions of dollars set to flow, the US space industry will surely benefit. Space is critical not just for defense, but to the basic functioning of the world’s economy and many aspects of everyday life.
Investing in the space industry can be done on an individual basis or through a thematic fund like ProcureAM’s Space ETF (NASDAQ:UFO). Funds like UFO have teams of experts who do the hard work of researching and analyzing opportunities on behalf of investors.
UFO currently has net assets of $38,22 million, an expense ratio of .75%. Its top 3 holdings are:
Sirius XM Holdings (NASDAQ:SIRI) – 5.28%
Globalstar Inc (NASDAQ:GSAT) – 5.23%
Virgin Galactic Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:SPCE) – 5.18%