Additionally, Rocket Lab continued its ascendance as a spacecraft company. It played a key role in supporting Firefly’s Blue Ghost lander at the beginning of this year, and in November, its two ESCAPADE vehicles were safely switched on after launch, beginning their journey to Mars.

As it has grown, Rocket Lab’s ability to execute has remained excellent.

4. United Launch Alliance (-2)

It was supposed to be a breakthrough year for ULA, having finally gotten the Vulcan rocket flying and moving into an operational cadence. Alas, that did not happen.

In late 2024, the company’s CEO, Tory Bruno, told reporters that ULA aimed to launch as many as 20 missions in 2025, with roughly an even split between the legacy Atlas V launcher and Vulcan. Now, it’s likely that ULA will close out 2025 with six flights—five with the Atlas V and just one with the Vulcan rocket that the company is so eager to accelerate into service.

The Vulcan rocket’s sole launch this year occurred on August 12, when it took off on a mission sponsored by the US Space Force. In an article in November, Ars speculated that Vulcan flew just once in 2025 due to an ongoing investigation of the vehicle’s solid rocket boosters.

To top it all off, at the end of December, Blue Origin swooped in to hire Bruno away to run its new national security division. That is, ULA’s leader is leaving a company that largely subsists on national defense launch contracts to go be a national defense contract rainmaker at its direct competitor. From which ULA buys its rocket engines.

5. Northrop Grumman (+1)

Only one other US company had a successful orbital launch in 2025, and it was Northrop Grumman. In April, the company’s Minotaur IV rocket carried a payload into orbit for the National Reconnaissance Office.