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Two long-established defense primes with large space portfolios. Northrop Grumman reports a dedicated Space Systems segment ($10.8 billion in 2025); Boeing's space work, including SLS, Starliner and the ISS, sits inside its larger Defense, Space & Security segment.
| Metric | Northrop Grumman | Boeing Space |
|---|---|---|
| Parent Company Founded[1,4] | 1939 (Northrop Aircraft); acquired Grumman in 1994 | 1916 (as Pacific Aero Products, Seattle) |
| Headquarters[1,2] | Falls Church, VA | Arlington, VA |
| Space Business[1,2] | Space Systems segment | Defense, Space & Security (BDS) segment |
| Total Company Revenue (FY2025)[1,2] | $42.0B | $89.5B (BDS: $27.2B) |
| Space Revenue (FY2025)[1,2] | Space Systems: $10.8B | Not reported separately (inside BDS, which is mostly defense) |
| Employees (whole company)[1,2] | About 95,000 (Dec 31, 2025) | About 182,000 (Dec 31, 2025) |
| Crew Vehicle[3] | None | Starliner: Crewed Flight Test (June 2024) returned uncrewed in Sept 2024; next, an uncrewed flight no earlier than Q4 2026 |
| ISS Role[1,9] | Cygnus cargo spacecraft under NASA Commercial Resupply Services | NASA ISS prime contractor since 1993 |
| Launch[1,3,6,8] | SLS solid rocket motors; GEM 63/63XL boosters for Atlas V and Vulcan; Antares 230+ retired (Aug 2023), Antares 330 and Eclipse being built with Firefly | SLS core stage prime contractor; 50% owner of United Launch Alliance |
| Satellites (examples)[1,10] | SDA Tracking and Transport layer satellites; Next-Gen OPIR polar missile-warning satellites | O3b mPOWER for SES; small-satellite constellations through Millennium Space Systems |
| Missile Defense[1,2] | Glide Phase Interceptor; Ground-based Midcourse Defense boosters | Ground-based Midcourse Defense |
| Science Flagship[7,8] | Main industrial contractor for the James Webb Space Telescope (launched Dec 25, 2021) | SLS core stages for Artemis |
| Distinctive Spacecraft[5,10] | MEV-1 and MEV-2 satellite life-extension vehicles; Mission Robotic Vehicle with three Mission Extension Pods launched July 21, 2026 | X-37B reusable spaceplane |
Boeing is NASA's prime contractor for the SLS core stage, building it at NASA's Michoud Assembly Facility, and has been the ISS prime contractor since 1993. Its Starliner crew capsule flew the Crewed Flight Test in June 2024; after propulsion system anomalies it returned to Earth uncrewed in September 2024, and Boeing has recorded losses on the fixed-price Commercial Crew program. Boeing now expects an uncrewed Starliner flight no earlier than the fourth quarter of 2026. Boeing also owns half of United Launch Alliance, whose Vulcan launches were paused after an anomaly in early 2026.[3,8,9]
Northrop Grumman was NASA's main industrial contractor for the James Webb Space Telescope, building the optical telescope, spacecraft bus and sunshield; Webb launched on December 25, 2021. Northrop Grumman also makes the solid rocket motors for SLS, flies Cygnus cargo missions to the ISS under NASA's Commercial Resupply Services contracts, and builds Tracking and Transport layer satellites for the Space Development Agency.[1,7]
Northrop Grumman's SpaceLogistics unit docked MEV-1 with Intelsat 901 on February 25, 2020 and MEV-2 with Intelsat 10-02 on April 12, 2021, extending the lives of satellites low on fuel; Northrop Grumman says it is the only company to have docked with an operational satellite in geosynchronous orbit for servicing. Its next-generation Mission Robotic Vehicle launched with three Mission Extension Pods on July 21, 2026. Boeing builds the X-37B, a returnable spaceplane for long-duration orbital experiments.[5,10]
Track defense primes and space contracts on SpaceNexus