How are the best space tech startups ranked?

Startups are ranked by commit velocity change, the percentage change in 14-day commit counts versus the previous period. This measures engineering acceleration, which has historically preceded fundraise announcements by three to six weeks. Data sourced from public GitHub activity.

2026 Rankings

Best Space Tech Startups 2026

Q: What are the best space tech startups in 2026?

The best space tech startups in 2026, ranked by engineering acceleration: 1. ossimlabs (+999% commit velocity change), 2. NASA-AMMOS (+360% commit velocity change), 3. orbitalindex (+300% commit velocity change), 4. OpenCSGs (+286% commit velocity change), 5. SatDump (+250% commit velocity change). Rankings based on public GitHub engineering activity data from VC Deal Flow Signal.

Direct answer

The top space tech startups in 2026, ranked by GitHub engineering acceleration. These are the companies whose engineering teams are shipping the fastest, a signal that has historically preceded fundraise announcements by three to six weeks.

Key Takeaway

In Q3 2026, 14 of 23 tracked space tech startups show positive engineering acceleration. ossimlabs leads with 1 commits over 14 days (+999% change). The dominant signal pattern is "Deceleration". Average sector commit velocity is 34 commits per 14-day window. These engineering momentum signals have historically preceded fundraise announcements by three to six weeks.

#	Company	Stage	Geo	Commits (14d)	Change	Contributors	Contrib. Growth	New Repos	Signal
1	ossimlabs Collection of repositories comprising the OSSIM and OMAR projects. Make sure you clone "ossim" repository first! View signal profile →	Series A/B	Unknown	1	+999%	34	+0%	0	Deploy frequency spike
2	NASA-AMMOS Administrator contacts: Aniwat.Nik.Sheurpukdi@jpl.nasa.gov and shawn.n.nguyen@jpl.nasa.gov. For AMMOS software tech su View signal profile →	Series A/B	Unknown	46	+360%	40	+30%	0	Deploy frequency spike
3	orbitalindex Space: weekly, technical, curated. View signal profile →	Growth	Unknown	4	+300%	64	+0%	0	Deploy frequency spike
4	OpenCSGs OpenCSG of AI, by AI, for AI View signal profile →	Pre-seed	Unknown	54	+286%	6	+29%	2	Deploy frequency spike
5	SatDump Sat Dump is aspace tech growth startup, shipping product updates at an accelerated pace. View signal profile →	Growth	Unknown	7	+250%	58	+0%	0	Deploy frequency spike
6	orbiternassp View signal profile →	Series A/B	Unknown	6	+200%	37	+0%	0	Deploy frequency spike
7	mx-space 混合空间 Mix Space View signal profile →	Series A/B	APAC	130	+141%	27	+0%	0	Framework migration
8	starwards View signal profile →	Pre-seed	Unknown	70	+89%	6	+400%	0	Engineering hiring burst
9	spedas Space Physics Environment Data Analysis Software View signal profile →	Series A/B	Unknown	27	+80%	39	+226%	3	Engineering hiring burst
10	CCSDSPy This community-developed package provides a Python interface for reading and writing binary data in the CCSDS format use View signal profile →	Seed	Unknown	3	+50%	11	+0%	0	Framework migration
11	OpenCyphal Open technology for real-time intravehicular distributed computing and communication based on modern networking standard View signal profile →	Series A/B	Unknown	3	+50%	24	+400%	0	Engineering hiring burst
12	DaedalusDock Spacecraft simulation and mission analysis software for orbital mechanics and trajectory optimization. View signal profile →	Growth	Unknown	23	+44%	287	+0%	0	Framework migration
13	elodin-sys View signal profile →	Series A/B	US	16	+33%	20	+6%	2	Framework migration
14	endless-sky Space exploration, trading, and combat game. View signal profile →	Growth	US	25	+32%	54	+0%	0	Framework migration
15	open-space-collective Collaborative space. View signal profile →	Pre-seed	Unknown	48	-2%	5	+0%	0	Deceleration
16	ut-issl 東京大学航空宇宙工学専攻船瀬・五十里研究室の公開リポジトリ View signal profile →	Pre-seed	APAC	54	-10%	4	+74%	3	Deceleration
17	OpenC3 Open Source. Open Architecture. Command, Control and Communication View signal profile →	Growth	US	141	-18%	50	+32%	2	Deceleration
18	CelestiaProject View signal profile →	Growth	Unknown	12	-33%	56	+0%	0	Deceleration
19	naev Migrated to https://codeberg.org/naev .Naev is a 2D space trading and combat game that combines elements from the action View signal profile →	Growth	Unknown	38	-48%	168	+0%	0	Deceleration
20	RocketPy-Team We're focused on RocketPy's development, seeking for a revolution on the way we see rocket trajectory nowadays View signal profile →	Growth	Unknown	24	-54%	72	+400%	0	Deceleration
21	7-Blocks We Make Software That Solves Pain‎ ‎‎Points View signal profile →	Series A/B	APAC	27	-59%	33	+400%	0	Deceleration
22	nasa-jpl A world leader in the robotic exploration of space View signal profile →	Series A/B	Unknown	9	-85%	26	+0%	0	Deceleration
23	Official-MoonDao MoonDAO is accelerating our multiplanetary future with an open platform to fund, collaborate, and compete on challenges View signal profile →	Series A/B	Unknown	8	-91%	30	+0%	0	Deceleration

Ranked by commit velocity change (14-day window). Data: Q3 2026.

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Frequently Asked Questions

What are the best space tech startups in 2026?

Based on GitHub engineering acceleration data, the top space tech startups in 2026 are ossimlabs, NASA-AMMOS, orbitalindex, OpenCSGs, SatDump. Rankings are based on commit velocity change, the rate at which engineering output is accelerating.

How are these rankings determined?

Startups are ranked by commit velocity change, the percentage change in 14-day commit counts versus the prior period. This measures engineering acceleration, not absolute size. Read the full methodology.

View detailed Space Tech rankings for Q3 2026→

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