SpaceX is rumored to IPO later this year at a $1.5 trillion to $1.75 trillion valuation. The catch is they recently merged with X and xAI, so buying in means taking on social media and AI too. For a pure space play, the article highlights Rocket Lab (RKLB) and Planet Labs (PL) as alternatives. Rocket Lab expects $602 million in revenue for 2025 and is developing its larger Neutron rocket to compete directly with SpaceX next year. Planet Labs does satellite Earth imaging, growing revenue 33% last quarter with a $734 million backlog from clients like NASA and the Navy. Both are expensive on paper. RKLB has a price-to-sales ratio of 61 and PL is at 26.5. Still, their smaller market caps could offer better upside than a $1.5 trillion SpaceX.