8. Relativity Space (-1) Relativity launched its first rocket in March 2023, and the Terran 1 vehicle had a nominal first stage performance. However, after this mission, the company shelved the smaller vehicle to put all of its resources into the much larger and more ambitious Terran R rocket. It has not been an easy transition, and the pivot has taken some of the shine off of the company. Its recent fundraising efforts appear to have been lackluster compared to its earlier rounds. In September, Ars published a lengthy feature about where the company is headed. It's fairly sobering, as a company that once aspired to 3D-print nearly the entirety of its rockets now is sourcing some key components from suppliers in Europe. Worryingly, a planned event this fall by chief executive Tim Ellis to release more information about Terran R's development has not gone off. It's fair to ask whether Relativity Space will be on this list at all next year. 9. Astra (unranked) Guess who's back, back again? Astra's back, tell a friend. In October, Astra—which last launched in June 2022—announced that it had won a Department of Defense contract valued up to $44 million for launch services. To be clear, Astra is not all the way back yet. The company remains in the phase of building and testing rocket stages and engines and does not have a launch vehicle ready to go. Its new booster, Rocket 4, will launch no earlier than the fourth quarter of 2025. However, it is nice to see a resurrection of sorts for a company that I and many others left for dead. Ultimate success will depend on how chief executive Chris Kemp's fundraising goes and how the technological work progresses. But the near-term goal for Astra is to develop a mobile launch capability by which the rocket can be delivered to a concrete launch pad in two cargo containers and the ground support equipment and consumables in five additional containers by barge, train, or truck. Responsive launch is what the Department of Defense is interested in. 10. USC Rocket Propulsion Lab The University of Southern California Rocket Propulsion Lab is not a company. Rather, it is a student group. However, this year, the students at the prestigious aerospace school did something that only a handful of companies did in 2024: launch a rocket into space. In November, the lab's Aftershock II mission reached an altitude of 470,000 feet (143 km), shattering the previous non-governmental and non-commercial record of 380,000 feet set by Civilian Space Exploration Team back in 2004. The Rocket Propulsion Lab remains the first and only student group ever to cross the Kármán line, which it accomplished in 2019 for the first time. Think about it this way: In the United States last year, only SpaceX, ULA, Rocket Lab, and Firefly launched something to a higher altitude. The USC group may not be a company, but in a few years, these students will make some US launch companies very happy with their talents. Dropped out Two companies that made our power rankings in 2023 have dropped out. One of these, Virgin Galactic, flew to space twice with its suborbital space plane. However, after those flights, the company halted its operations with VSS Unity as it awaits the more reusable delta-class spaceships. Whether those vehicles will fly in 2025, 2026, or ever is yet to be seen. The other company on the list, ABL Space, is moving away from launch. Frankly, it's becoming difficult to identify 10 credible US launch companies at this point. There remain some US companies in various states of launch vehicle development, including Phantom Space, Evolution Space, Exos Aerospace, Vaya Space, Deep Space Transport LLC (which sounds like it is on life support, if it exists at all), and other companies. But absent a rocket at the pad, it's difficult to have too much confidence in any of these players. Finally, I was also hoping for memorable antics from Pythom Space this year, but alas, the last update on its website is a post to wish everyone a Happy New Year from early January 2024.