SpaceX Built the Highway. These Companies Are Building the Exits.

SpaceX changed the economics of space forever.

Reusable rockets made launch dramatically cheaper, increased launch frequency, and helped turn space from a government-dominated industry into a legitimate commercial market.

But solving the cost problem didn’t solve every problem. And, in fact, SpaceX’s success has exposed the next bottleneck…

The future of the space economy can’t depend entirely on giant rockets carrying giant payloads according to predetermined launch schedules.

Eventually, space transportation needs to become more flexible, more responsive, more specialized…

And that’s where the next wave of opportunity begins.

SpaceX Built the Highway

Think about what SpaceX really created: infrastructure.

Essentially, SpaceX effectively constructed the interstate highway connecting Earth to orbit.

And like every transportation revolution before it, that highway is creating opportunities nobody could have fully imagined beforehand.

Satellites, space-based communications, earth observation, national security systems, microgravity manufacturing, commercial space stations….

Eventually, perhaps even lunar industry and orbital logistics.

But highways alone don’t make an economy work.

You also need delivery trucks, warehouses, local roads, distribution centers, specialized freight, and countless other supporting systems.

And that’s what space still lacks. But it’s also why one small company has caught our attention…

Meet Starfighters Space

Starfighters Space (NYSE: FJET) operates a commercial fleet of F-104 Starfighters.

These Cold War-era aircraft were designed to fly extremely fast and extremely high to respond to Soviet ICBM threats.

And now Starfighters is giving them a second life…

Because its jets can take off from a normal runway, climb to high altitude, accelerate beyond Mach 2, and carry experimental hardware or rockets beneath their wings.

And that creates several potential businesses…

The aircraft can be used for hypersonic testing. They also can carry microgravity experiments.

They can test aerospace components under real-world high-speed conditions.

And eventually, through the company’s STARLAUNCH system, they could carry small payloads to altitude and release them for launch.

You see, not every customer needs a giant rocket…

Some need speed, some need flexibility, some need a dedicated mission.

And some need to test a component today rather than wait months for the right launch slot.

That’s a very different market than what SpaceX serves.

The Business Is Taking Shape

Starfighters has spent 2026 building out that vision…

Earlier this year, the company and GE Aerospace advanced STARLAUNCH into critical design review following successful testing.

It partnered with Mu-G Technologies to pursue microgravity missions for NASA, academic researchers, and commercial customers.

It also teamed with Blackstar Orbital to use its F-104 platform for flight testing of reusable hypersonic spacecraft.

Then came the infrastructure pieces…

Earlier this month, Starfighters signed an agreement with The Bionetics Corporation covering preparation, integration, testing, and retrieval of small payloads flown aboard its aircraft.

A week later, it announced a collaboration with Vaya Defense and Space to explore both hypersonic captive-carry missions and propulsion technology for STARLAUNCH.

And that’s the part investors should pay attention to…

Starfighters isn’t waiting for STARLAUNCH to become operational before trying to build a business around itself.

It is attempting to monetize the same underlying asset — a commercial fleet capable of sustained Mach 2+ flight — in multiple ways…

Testing, research, payload services, hypersonics, and eventually, launch.

And that’s how infrastructure businesses develop.

Don’t Compare It to SpaceX

The big thing is that Starfighters doesn’t need to beat SpaceX. And it really shouldn’t even try.

Because comparing the two is like comparing FedEx with a container ship…

A container ship wins when you need to move enormous amounts of cargo efficiently.

But FedEx wins when something smaller has to get somewhere quickly.

A mature space economy will need both.

It will need giant reusable rockets capable of putting massive payloads into orbit.

But it will also need smaller launch systems, rapid-response missions, specialized testing, payload processing, orbital servicing, return-to-Earth capabilities, and a much larger logistics network.

That ecosystem is already starting to emerge. And this is the part of the space boom we think investors are still underestimating in a big way.

The Opportunity After SpaceX

SpaceX proved commercial space can work. And now hundreds of companies are trying to build on top of what it started.

Some are developing new launch systems, while others are building satellites.

Some are working on propulsion, orbital manufacturing, communications, servicing, logistics, and defense.

Most won’t become the next SpaceX. But they don’t need to.

Think about the automobile…

Ford helped make cars affordable.

But enormous fortunes were also created in tires, fuel stations, highways, auto parts, dealerships, insurance, trucking, motels, and thousands of other businesses that became necessary once millions of cars hit the road.

Space is beginning to experience the same phenomenon…

SpaceX built the highway and now somebody has to build everything else.

And that’s where we believe some of the most overlooked opportunities in the entire market are hiding.

Starfighters gives us a glimpse of what that next phase could look like.

Not bigger rockets, but more specialized infrastructure and more flexible transportation.

More ways to move, test, deliver, and service the growing amount of hardware heading toward orbit.

And Starfighters is only one example.

Our research team has identified several other companies helping build this emerging galactic supply chain…

Companies that aren’t SpaceX, but could benefit directly from the infrastructure, transportation, and logistics boom its success helped create.

If you want to see the three stocks we’re watching most closely as this new space economy takes shape, click here to get our free report on the galactic supply chain.