Boeing Space vs Northrop Grumman Space: Defense & intelligence compared

November 2026 edition · assessment by Frontier Tech Intelligence

Northrop Grumman Space ranks 9 on the Space 100 with a score of 85; Boeing Space ranks 83 with 65. Northrop Grumman Space is ahead on deployment, commercials, progress, technology, positioning, firepower and leverage. Level on production. Boeing Space is based in Arlington, United States, Northrop Grumman Space in Dulles, United States. Boeing Space: Subsidiary. Northrop Grumman Space: Subsidiary. Boeing Space is named in 0 signals and Northrop Grumman Space in 112.

Boeing Space →

Arlington, Virginia, United States · Space · Applications / Defense & intelligence · Subsidiary · boeing.com

Boeing Space builds spacecraft, including Starliner, and is expanding satellite production to meet missile-warning demand.

Space 100 · rank 83 · score 65

Scores, Space (of 10)

Deployment6
Production8
Commercials8
Progress5
Technology6
Positioning6
Firepower8
Leverage6

Darker bar: ahead of the other company on that measure.

Positioning

Boeing's space unit makes 702-line GEO satellites, the SLS core stage, and MILNET/classified work, with Millennium Space (scored separately) as its proliferated-LEO arm and a troubled Starliner program carrying charges. It is the prime whose small-sat relevance runs through its subsidiary while the parent carries the legacy-program overhang. Segment financials are program-scoped (a filings pass owed).

Facts, with sources

  • NASA and Boeing updated the Starliner contract, restoring missions 5 and 6 and adding Vulcan crew certification; uncrewed Starliner-1 is set for Dec 2026 to Jan 2027, crewed Starliner-2 for 2028.boeing.com
  • Boeing delivered the final three O3b mPOWER satellites (F11 to F13) to SES, completing the initial 13-satellite constellation; 10 are already on orbit.boeing.com
  • SES expects the Boeing-built 13-satellite O3b mPOWER system to enter service in mid-2027 after the final three satellites launch on a Falcon 9.satellitetoday.com

11 facts on file.

Northrop Grumman Space →

Dulles, Virginia, United States · Space · Applications / Defense & intelligence · Subsidiary · northropgrumman.com

Northrop Grumman designs, builds and operates spacecraft for reconnaissance, missile tracking, communications and cargo, including SDA satellites and Cygnus.

Space 100 · rank 9 · score 85

Scores, Space (of 10)

Deployment8
Production8
Commercials10
Progress9
Technology8
Positioning8
Firepower10
Leverage8

Darker bar: ahead of the other company on that measure.

Positioning

Northrop Grumman's space unit spans Cygnus ISS cargo, solid rocket motors (GEM/OmegA heritage), missile-warning primes, and an SDA Tranche 3 win, and it holds the servicing category's only commercial operating record via the flown MEV-1 and MEV-2 GEO life-extension servicers. It is the quiet incumbent while startups (Astroscale, Starfish) hold the servicing contracts pipeline, though a Northrop launch anomaly stranded AST's BB7. Segment financials are group-scoped and not broken out (a filings pass owed).

Latest signals

  • The U.S. Navy is fitting USS Ohio with Northrop Grumman’s DRAKE counter-drone system.Interesting Engineering
  • Cygnus NG-24 completed its cargo mission and reentered Earth’s atmosphere.Novosti Kosmonavtiki
  • SpaceX launched 21 Northrop Grumman communications satellites for the U.S. Space Development Agency.Novosti Kosmonavtiki

112 signals name Northrop Grumman Space.

Facts, with sources

  • 24-month contract for a reconnaissance satellite prototype awarded by the U.S. Space Forceinterestingengineering.com — 2026-09-19
  • Space Force contract naming Northrop Grumman as prime contractor for the GMTI programbreakingdefense.com — 2026-09-16
  • Departed the SNC-led Navy trainer team for the Undergraduate Jet Amazon System programbreakingdefense.com — 2026-09-14

51 facts on file.

More comparisons

Questions this page answers

Boeing Space or Northrop Grumman Space: which is ahead in space?

Northrop Grumman Space ranks 9 on the Space 100 with a score of 85; Boeing Space ranks 83 with 65. Northrop Grumman Space is ahead on deployment, commercials, progress, technology, positioning, firepower and leverage. Level on production. Boeing Space is based in Arlington, United States, Northrop Grumman Space in Dulles, United States. Boeing Space: Subsidiary. Northrop Grumman Space: Subsidiary. Boeing Space is named in 0 signals and Northrop Grumman Space in 112.

How do Boeing Space and Northrop Grumman Space compare?

Northrop Grumman Space ranks 9 on the Space 100 with a score of 85; Boeing Space ranks 83 with 65. Northrop Grumman Space is ahead on deployment, commercials, progress, technology, positioning, firepower and leverage. Level on production. Boeing Space is based in Arlington, United States, Northrop Grumman Space in Dulles, United States. Boeing Space: Subsidiary. Northrop Grumman Space: Subsidiary. Boeing Space is named in 0 signals and Northrop Grumman Space in 112. Both company files carry the scores on eight measures, the facts with sources and the latest signals.

Every comparison here comes from the same files members use every day.

Members see every signal and fact behind both companies, the live ranking, the questions the signals answer and the week explained. $99 a month, 7-day trial. What Frontier Tech Intelligence is →

Subscribe · $99 a month