Tema Space Innovators ETF (NYSE: NASA) is drifting back toward its March launch lows as SpaceX (SPCX) surrenders much of its post-IPO momentum, even as fresh filings reveal a significant buildup in space sector positions.
New institutional ownership disclosures compiled by Quiver Quantitative show Tema ETFs added a combined 5.73 million shares across AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ: ASTS), Rocket Lab (NASDAQ: RKLB) and Intuitive Machines (NASDAQ: LUNR) during the quarter ended June 30.
The combined positions in those three names were worth approximately $320.5 million at quarter-end, representing a substantial vote of confidence in the broader commercial space sector.
The NASA ETF was trading around $26.18 in early sessions, its lowest level since its first full trading day on March 31, as the fund’s largest holding continued to weigh on overall performance.
SpaceX accounts for 17% of the fund’s total assets, making it the single biggest drag when sentiment around the stock sours, with Rocket Lab second at 10%, AST SpaceMobile at 6% and Intuitive Machines at 4%.
SpaceX closed below its $150 debut-day opening price for the first time last week, and the stock was trading around $145, roughly 7% above its $135 IPO price but approximately 28% below its post-listing high of $200.
Over the weekend, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman renewed their long-running feud on X, trading barbs over artificial intelligence and SpaceX’s plans to deploy orbital data centers, adding another layer of noise around the stock.
The actively managed ETF, launched in March, now oversees roughly $1.31 billion across 38 holdings spanning launch providers, satellite operators, communications infrastructure and several private space companies.
Tema added 3.1 million LUNR shares, lifting its reported stake to 3.11 million shares worth about $66.4 million, following a series of major contract wins for Intuitive Machines.
In June, Intuitive Machines secured a contract worth up to $148.3 million to deliver a production-line-qualified Nova-C lunar lander by 2028, and also became prime contractor for NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera and South Korea’s ShadowCam programs in May.
Tema added 1.62 million RKLB shares, taking its reported stake to 1.62 million shares worth nearly $164.9 million, the largest of the three new positions by market value.
Rocket Lab’s recent $8 billion acquisition of Iridium Communications is set to add recurring connectivity revenue, while its Victus Haze mission for the U.S. Space Force demonstrated a rapid-launch capability, with liftoff just 16 hours and 42 minutes after notice.
Tema added just over 1 million ASTS shares, lifting its reported position to approximately 1 million shares worth $89.2 million, ahead of a significant satellite deployment milestone.
BlueBird 11 has arrived at Cape Canaveral, with BlueBirds 12 and 13 expected to follow ahead of a Falcon 9 launch planned for the first half of August, which will expand AST SpaceMobile’s direct-to-device broadband network.
The company expects the next-generation BlueBirds to offer nearly twice the peak download speeds of its first operational satellites, which can already deliver voice, data and video services to standard smartphones.
On Stocktwits, sentiment for SPCX, RKLB, LUNR and ASTS was broadly “bearish,” with message volume described as “extremely low” for SPCX, “low” for RKLB and ASTS, and “normal” for LUNR.
Despite the current pullback in sentiment, the underlying stocks have posted strong long-term gains, with RKLB surging 107%, ASTS gaining 67% and LUNR climbing 44% over the past year.
