Major update since this published: SpaceX completed its IPO on June 12 and joined the Nasdaq-100 on July 7, one of the fastest companies ever added to a major US index. That means QQQ and QQQM now hold SpaceX directly, at roughly 1.2% of the fund. ARKX has been buying more shares since the listing, and NASA now holds a real ~7.5% position. The stock itself has been volatile: it hit an all-time high of $225.64 on June 16, then fell to a fresh all-time low near $137 by July 13, just above its $135 IPO price. Skip to exactly what holds SpaceX now for the current picture.
Searches for "nasa etf" spiked 250% in the weeks before SpaceX's IPO, and "spacex ipo" was up 450% in the same window. That was the reflex of retail investors looking for a way into a company they could not yet buy. As of July 2026, that problem is solved, just not in the way most of those searchers expected.
SpaceX did not go public through a dedicated space-themed fund. It went public as a stock, and within weeks was pulled into the Nasdaq-100, which means anyone already holding QQQ or QQQM through a brokerage account or 401(k) now owns a piece of it automatically. Index inclusion did more for broad SpaceX ownership in one week than months of searching for the right thematic ETF.
What Changed
SpaceX was private for its entire existence before this year, and Elon Musk had repeatedly said it would stay that way. The company was reportedly valued above $350 billion as of late 2024, one of the most valuable private companies in the world, and one of the few generating real revenue at that scale on the back of Starlink. That changed June 12, 2026, when SpaceX priced its IPO at $135 a share and began trading under the ticker SPCX.
The stock has been genuinely volatile since. It opened around $150, ran to an all-time high of $225.64 on June 16, then gave almost all of that back, touching a fresh all-time low of $136.78 on July 13, just above where it priced. Twenty-six of 27 analysts tracked have a buy rating on it, with an average 12-month price target of $242.22, but the six weeks of trading so far make clear this is not a stock that moves quietly.
SpaceX is public now (ticker SPCX) and, as of July 7, 2026, a member of the Nasdaq-100. QQQ and QQQM hold it at roughly 1.2% of the fund. ARKX has been adding shares since the IPO, and NASA holds a real ~7.5% position. Private-markets crossover funds like XOVR held it earlier and at higher concentration, and still do. The funds below show exactly how much of each you'd actually own.
What Space ETFs Actually Exist
Three funds dominate the space ETF category. None are large by ETF standards, none are cheap, and all three define "space" differently.
NASA: Procure Space ETF
The ticker is literally NASA, which is part of why it keeps showing up in search results for people who typed "nasa etf" and hit enter. The Procure Space ETF tracks the S-Network Space Index, which holds roughly 30 companies that derive a significant portion of revenue from space-related activities: satellite operators, rocket manufacturers, space technology providers, and defense contractors with space divisions. The fund launched in 2019 and charges 0.75%, expensive by any modern ETF standard. AUM is approximately $100 million, which means it is a small, thinly traded fund despite the name recognition its ticker generates.
Top holdings include companies like Trimble (GPS and precision agriculture), Maxar Technologies (satellite imagery), and various aerospace contractors. The portfolio was always more "companies that use space" than "pure space exploration," and it still is. What changed: since SpaceX's IPO, NASA has built a real position in it, roughly 7.5% of assets as of mid-July, its largest single holding. There is still no Rocket Lab here. The mandate requires publicly traded companies, which SpaceX only recently became.
ROKT: SPDR S&P Kensho Final Frontiers ETF
State Street's ROKT tracks the S&P Kensho Final Frontiers Index, built by Kensho's AI-driven classification system. It holds roughly 25 companies in two categories: space and deep ocean exploration. The deep ocean bucket is an odd addition: it includes subsea cable infrastructure companies alongside the space names. The fund launched in 2018 and charges 0.45%, cheaper than NASA but still expensive. AUM sits around $300 million, making it the largest of the three by assets.
The Kensho methodology has a different result than NASA's index. ROKT includes some names that NASA excludes and vice versa. Unlike NASA and ARKX, ROKT still does not hold SpaceX. Rocket Lab (RKLB) and Blue Origin (still private) are also absent. The search term "space etf" mostly leads people to these funds, and ROKT specifically remains the one dedicated space ETF without direct SpaceX exposure.
ARKX: ARK Space Exploration and Innovation ETF
Cathie Wood's ARKX is the most aggressive interpretation of "space ETF." ARK's active management approach has led to a portfolio that includes 3D printing companies, autonomous vehicle infrastructure, and drone manufacturers alongside the actual space names. ARK argues these are enabling technologies for space exploration. The fund holds roughly 28 companies at 0.75%, and AUM has declined significantly from its peak as ARK's flagship strategies have underperformed over the 2022-2024 period.
ARKX has been an active buyer of SpaceX since the IPO. In one recent disclosed purchase, the fund added 5,711 SpaceX shares worth roughly $917,000. Combined with Rocket Lab, which remains a larger position in ARKX than in NASA or ROKT, ARKX is now the space-themed fund with the most direct exposure to both companies retail investors search for most.
The Numbers
| NASA | ROKT | ARKX | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Procure Space ETF | SPDR S&P Kensho Final Frontiers | ARK Space Exploration ETF |
| Expense ratio | 0.75% | 0.45% | 0.75% |
| AUM | ~$100M | ~$300M | ~$400M |
| Holdings | ~30 | ~25 | ~28 |
| Strategy | S-Network Space Index | Kensho AI classification | Active, ARK-managed |
| Includes SpaceX? | Yes (~7.5%) | No | Yes (buying) |
| Includes Rocket Lab? | No | No | Yes |
| Pure space focus? | High | Medium (includes deep ocean) | Low (broader innovation) |
The Stocks Driving the Search Spike
The broader trend data tells a more specific story. Alongside "nasa etf" and "space etf," the rising searches include "rklb" (Rocket Lab, up 130%), "asts" (AST SpaceMobile, up 150%), and "nasa etf holdings" (up 350%). Investors are finding the NASA ETF, checking its holdings, and in some cases discovering it does not contain the companies they wanted.
Rocket Lab (RKLB) is a real business: a small-satellite launch provider that is growing revenue and has a credible path to profitability. AST SpaceMobile (ASTS) is building a direct-to-smartphone satellite network that would let any cellular device connect to its satellites without special hardware. Both are genuinely interesting companies in the space sector. Both are volatile, pre-profitability, and heavily dependent on execution against an ambitious roadmap.
Neither is in NASA (Procure Space ETF). RKLB is in ARKX. ASTS is not in any of the three major space ETFs as of this writing. Investors who want specific exposure to either company still need to buy the stock directly, the same way SpaceX itself worked until this June.
Exactly What Holds SpaceX Now
The single biggest source of SpaceX exposure for most retail investors isn't a space-themed fund at all. It's whatever already tracks the Nasdaq-100.
- QQQ and QQQM hold SpaceX automatically as Nasdaq-100 index funds, at roughly 1.2% of the fund as of July 9, its 21st-largest position. Under standard float-adjusted methodology the weight would be closer to 0.5%, but the float multiplier rule pushed it higher since less than 5% of SpaceX's shares outstanding are publicly traded. Anyone holding QQQ or QQQM through a brokerage account or 401(k) owns this exposure with no action required and no extra fee.
- NASA (Procure Space ETF) holds roughly 7.5% of assets in SpaceX, its largest position, at a 0.75% expense ratio.
- ARKX (ARK Space Exploration) has been an active buyer since the IPO, adding shares in disclosed purchases (5,711 shares in one recent trade, worth about $917,000).
- XOVR (ERShares Private-Public Crossover ETF) held SpaceX before the IPO at even higher concentration, roughly 13% of assets pre-listing, and continues to hold it. It charges about 1.81% a year, the cost of the active, concentrated approach that got in early.
- RONB (Baron First Principles ETF) held SpaceX at roughly 16% of assets pre-IPO, the largest weighting among broadly available crossover funds. Baron Partners (BPTIX), a mutual fund, held a meaningful position too.
- DXYZ (Destiny Tech100) is a closed-end fund that held pre-IPO SpaceX shares. It has historically traded at a steep premium to its net asset value, meaning you could pay well above what its holdings were actually worth. That premium risk doesn't disappear just because the underlying company went public.
The practical takeaway: if you want broad, low-cost SpaceX exposure with no extra fee, you likely already have it through QQQ or QQQM. If you want concentrated exposure well beyond a Nasdaq-100 weighting, XOVR, NASA, and ARKX all offer more, at a real cost premium. We break the trade-offs down in ARKX vs XOVR.
The IPO, in retrospect
SpaceX priced its IPO at $135 a share on June 12, 2026, and opened trading around $150. The stock ran to an all-time high of $225.64 just four days later, then gave nearly all of it back: a fresh all-time low of $136.78 hit on July 13, barely above the IPO price. Defiance's 2X daily leveraged products, SPCL and SPCU, launched to trade that volatility. These are trading instruments, not investments. 2X daily leverage decays over time and can lose money even across a stretch where SpaceX rises overall, because the leverage resets every day. The stock's first six weeks as a public company are close to a case study in why that decay matters: a round trip from $150 to $225 back to $137 would have been brutal to hold through in a daily-reset leveraged product.
The BFF Take
The fastest way most people actually got SpaceX exposure wasn't picking the right thematic fund. It was already owning QQQ. Index inclusion did in one week what months of "which space ETF holds SpaceX" searches couldn't: broad, no-extra-fee ownership for anyone who already holds a Nasdaq-100 fund in a brokerage account or 401(k). Nobody had to do anything. That's worth sitting with, because it's the opposite of the instinct that drove the original search spike, which was "I need to find the special fund for this."
The specialty funds still matter if you want more than an index weighting. NASA now carries its largest position ever in a single name, roughly 7.5% in SpaceX. ARKX has been actively adding shares. Both give you concentrated exposure well beyond what QQQ's 1.2% offers, at 0.75% instead of QQQ's 0.20%. XOVR, which built its SpaceX position back when the company was still private, remains the most concentrated broadly available option at roughly 13%, for 1.81% a year. ROKT is still the one dedicated space ETF that gives you none of this.
The stock itself is a separate conversation from the funds. A round trip from a $150 debut to a $225.64 peak to a fresh $136.78 low, all inside six weeks, is not a market that's decided what SpaceX is worth yet. Whatever exposure you have through QQQ, NASA, or ARKX inherits that volatility at whatever weighting each fund carries. Position size accordingly, and remember that past performance, six weeks or six years of it, does not guarantee future results.
Space ETFs and SpaceX, Updated for July 2026
- SpaceX IPO'd June 12, 2026 at $135 and joined the Nasdaq-100 on July 7, one of the fastest index additions ever.
- QQQ and QQQM now hold SpaceX automatically at roughly 1.2%, its 21st-largest position in QQQ, with zero extra fee for anyone who already owns the fund.
- NASA (Procure Space ETF) holds its largest position ever in SpaceX, roughly 7.5% of assets, at 0.75%.
- ARKX has been an active buyer since the IPO. ROKT is the one dedicated space ETF that still does not hold SpaceX.
- Crossover funds that held SpaceX pre-IPO (XOVR ~13%, RONB ~16%, DXYZ) still hold it, at higher concentration and higher cost than any index fund.
- The stock has been volatile: an all-time high of $225.64 on June 16, a fresh all-time low of $136.78 on July 13, just above the IPO price.
- 2X leveraged products (SPCL, SPCU) are trading instruments, not investments. Daily leverage decay makes them a poor way to hold through this kind of swing.
Common Questions
Which ETFs hold SpaceX?
SpaceX went public June 12, 2026 under the ticker SPCX and joined the Nasdaq-100 on July 7, one of the fastest companies ever added to a major US index. That means QQQ and QQQM now hold it directly, at roughly 1.2% of the fund as of mid-July, making it QQQ's 21st-largest holding. ARKX (ARK Space Exploration) has been actively buying additional shares since the listing. NASA (the space-themed ETF) holds a real position of roughly 7.5% of assets. Private-markets crossover funds like XOVR, which held SpaceX before the IPO at even higher concentration, still do.
What is the best space ETF?
There are three main dedicated space ETFs and they define space differently. NASA (Procure Space ETF) charges 0.75% with about $100M in assets and now holds roughly 7.5% in SpaceX. ROKT (SPDR S&P Kensho Final Frontiers) is the cheapest and largest at 0.45% and about $300M, though it mixes in deep-ocean names and does not hold SpaceX. ARKX (ARK Space Exploration) charges 0.75%, holds Rocket Lab as a larger position, and has been adding SpaceX shares since the IPO. The right pick depends on whether you want pure space exposure or a broader innovation basket. Past performance does not guarantee future results.
Does QQQ own SpaceX?
Yes. SpaceX joined the Nasdaq-100 on July 7, 2026, so QQQ and QQQM both hold it automatically as index funds. Its weight was approximately 1.2% as of mid-July, making it roughly the 21st-largest position in QQQ, despite less than 5% of SpaceX's shares outstanding being publicly traded. Anyone who already owns QQQ or QQQM through a 401(k) or brokerage account owns SpaceX now, without having bought the stock directly.
Why does the NASA ETF keep showing up in searches?
Partly because its ticker is literally NASA, which surfaces it for anyone who types "nasa etf" and hits enter. But it is no longer just a name-recognition accident: the fund now holds a real position in SpaceX, roughly 7.5% of assets, making it one of the more concentrated SpaceX holdings among mainstream ETFs. It still tracks the S-Network Space Index of roughly 30 publicly traded space companies and charges 0.75%.