York Space Systems began trading as a public company on Thursday, with founder and CEO Dirk Wallinger touting the company's potential to be a key contributor to President Trump's 'Golden Dome' project.
The Denver-based space company opened on the New York Stock Exchange at $38, up 11.7% from its $34 offering price. It was valued at $4.75 billion.
"Golden Dome is essentially making disparate systems that weren't intended to talk to one another, talk to one another, which is what we do," Wallinger told CNBC's Morgan Brennan. "York's already delivering on that, so we're looking for the opportunity to deliver on the Golden Dome for our country."
York has already built low-earth orbit satellites for the U.S. Space Development Agency, launching 21 craft as part of a September launch.
Space technology has steadily been gaining momentum in 2025 and looks set for a big 2026.
The sector saw several IPOs last year, including Firefly Aerospace , Voyager Technologies and Karman Holdings .