High-Thrust Upper Stage Engine Market Report 2025

The high-thrust upper stage engine market size has grown strongly in recent years. It will grow from $5.46 billion in 2024 to $5.93 billion in 2025 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 8.7%. The growth during the historic period is driven by rising demand for satellite launches, expanding government space initiatives, increasing commercial space ventures, growth in defense applications, and heightened investments in aerospace manufacturing.

The high-thrust upper stage engine market size is expected to see strong growth in the next few years. It will grow to $8.17 billion in 2029 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 8.3%. The growth expected in the forecast period is driven by a stronger emphasis on sustainable propulsion, rising demand for cost-effective upper-stage engines, expansion of private space exploration initiatives, increased deployment of small satellites, and growing international partnerships in space missions. Key trends during this time include technological progress in propulsion systems, advancements in cryogenic engine technology, increased investment in research and development for engine efficiency, innovations in fuel mixture ratios, and improvements in additive manufacturing for engine components.

The growing demand for satellite launches is expected to drive the expansion of the high-thrust upper stage engine market, as the need for global connectivity fuels rapid satellite deployments. Satellite launches, which involve sending artificial satellites into orbit using rockets or launch vehicles, are rising in response to increasing demand for reliable satellite-based broadband services across different regions. High-thrust upper stage engines play a vital role in these missions by providing powerful and precise propulsion, enabling payloads to reach higher orbits and deep-space trajectories while ensuring accurate orbital insertion and dependable deployment. According to the U.S. Government Accountability Office (September 2022), there were nearly 5,500 active satellites in orbit, with projections indicating up to 58,000 additional launches by 2030, underscoring how expanding satellite deployment is directly fueling demand for high-thrust upper stage engines.

Advancements in cryogenic propulsion are driving improvements in efficiency, payload capacity, and deep-space capability in the high-thrust upper stage engine market. Leading companies are increasingly focusing on developing propulsion systems that use liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen (LOX/LH2) propellants, a cryogenic fuel combination widely applied in high-performance rocket engines. In this setup, liquid hydrogen serves as the fuel and liquid oxygen as the oxidizer, delivering high specific impulse ideally suited for upper-stage propulsion. For example, in July 2023, Sierra Space Corporation, a U.S.-based aerospace company, announced the successful completion of the VR35K-A test campaign, marking a major milestone in upper-stage engine development. The VR35K-A is a high-performance LOX/LH2 engine that features a fuel-rich staged combustion cycle, an innovative turbopump design, and a VORTEX combustion chamber, producing 35,000 lbf of thrust at performance levels surpassing other engines in its class. The successful testing demonstrated its readiness for operational upper-stage missions and positioned it as a competitive solution for both government and commercial launch programs.

In July 2023, L3Harris Technologies Inc., a U.S.-based aerospace and defense technology company, acquired Aerojet Rocketdyne Inc. for \$4.7 billion, strengthening its presence in the space and missile propulsion market. The acquisition expanded L3Harris’s capabilities in high-thrust upper-stage engines while enhancing its ability to support national security and space exploration missions. Aerojet Rocketdyne, also based in the U.S., is a leading aerospace and defense propulsion company specializing in the design and manufacture of high-thrust upper-stage engines.

Major players in the high-thrust upper stage engine market are China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation, Northrop Grumman Corporation, Safran Aircraft Engines S.A., L3Harris Technologies Inc., Space Exploration Technologies Corp., Blue Origin LLC, RUAG Space AG, Sierra Space Corporation, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, Relativity Space Inc., Rocket Lab USA Inc., Indian Space Research Organisation, Gilmour Space Technologies Pty Ltd, Agnikul Cosmos Pvt. Ltd., Firefly Aerospace Inc., Ursa Major Technologies Inc., Stoke Space Technologies Inc., Virgin Orbit LLC, ABL Space Systems Inc., and Venus Aerospace Inc.

North America was the largest region in the high-thrust upper stage engine market in 2024. Asia-Pacific is expected to be the fastest-growing region in the forecast period. The regions covered in high-thrust upper stage engine report are Asia-Pacific, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, North America, South America, Middle East and Africa. The countries covered in the high-thrust upper stage engine market report are Australia, Brazil, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Japan, Russia, South Korea, UK, USA, Canada, Italy, Spain.

Note that the outlook for this market is being affected by rapid changes in trade relations and tariffs globally. The report will be updated prior to delivery to reflect the latest status, including revised forecasts and quantified impact analysis. The report’s Recommendations and Conclusions sections will be updated to give strategies for entities dealing with the fast-moving international environment.

The sharp hike in U.S. tariffs and the associated trade disputes in spring 2025 are notably impacting the aerospace and defense sector by raising costs for titanium, carbon fiber composites, and avionics materials largely sourced from global suppliers. Defense contractors, locked into fixed-price government contracts, absorb these added costs, while commercial aerospace firms face airline pushback on higher aircraft prices. Delays in component shipments due to customs bottlenecks further disrupt tight production schedules for jets and satellites. The industry is responding by stockpiling critical materials, seeking waivers for defense-related imports, and collaborating with allied nations to diversify supply chain.

A high-thrust upper stage engine is a robust rocket engine designed to function in the upper stages of a launch vehicle, usually beyond Earth’s atmosphere. It delivers the extra thrust needed to accurately place payloads into specific orbits or to propel spacecraft on missions beyond Earth. These engines are optimized for maximum efficiency in vacuum conditions, ensuring reliable, high-performance operation during space missions.

The main types of high-thrust upper stage engines include liquid propellant engines, solid propellant engines, and hybrid propellant engines. Liquid propellant engines generate thrust by burning fuel and oxidizer stored as liquids in separate tanks. Thrust classes vary from up to 100 kilonewtons, 100 to 200 kilonewtons, and above 200 kilonewtons. These engines are used in satellite launch vehicles, deep space probes, manned spacecraft, and more, serving end users such as government and defense agencies, commercial companies, and research institutions.

The high-thrust upper stage engine market research report is one of a series of new reports that provides high-thrust upper stage engine market statistics, including high-thrust upper stage engine industry global market size, regional shares, competitors with a high-thrust upper stage engine market share, detailed high-thrust upper stage engine market segments, market trends and opportunities, and any further data you may need to thrive in the high-thrust upper stage engine industry. The high-thrust upper-stage engine market research report delivers a complete perspective of everything you need, with an in-depth analysis of the current and future scenario of the industry.

The high-thrust upper stage engine market consists of sales of cryogenic engines, staged combustion engines, propulsion systems, turbopumps, propellant tanks, nozzles, ignition systems, and cooling systems. Values in this market are ‘factory gate’ values, that is, the value of goods sold by the manufacturers or creators of the goods, whether to other entities (including downstream manufacturers, wholesalers, distributors, and retailers) or directly to end customers. The value of goods in this market includes related services sold by the creators of the goods.

The market value is defined as the revenues that enterprises gain from the sale of goods and/or services within the specified market and geography through sales, grants, or donations in terms of the currency (in USD unless otherwise specified).

The revenues for a specified geography are consumption values that are revenues generated by organizations in the specified geography within the market, irrespective of where they are produced. It does not include revenues from resales along the supply chain, either further along the supply chain or as part of other products.

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