Twenty years ago we reached the surface of another planet. This marked one of the most important moments in the history of space exploration. It was 1997: the first successful landing on Mars via the Pathfinder rover.

Now, space exploration has expanded beyond our own government program, NASA. It has become the passion of some of the world’s most revered and forward-thinking minds.

In 2000, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos started a side project called Blue Origin. Although most of his activities are kept secret, Bezos has stated that his short-term goals include space tourism and satellite television. Then, in 2002, Elon Musk founded a company called SpaceX. This company was started with the sole purpose of colonizing Mars, even before Musk founded Tesla.

Right now, a primary goal for NASA is to be the first to have a manned mission to Mars. And now, there is increased competition from private companies, SpaceX in particular, as well as a multinational race, similar to the race to the moon.

It would be great to be able to invest in a company with such a unique and monopolistic approach like SpaceX and Blue Horizon, but unfortunately that’s not an easy option; These companies are not publicly traded. However, I think the next best thing is to invest in the systems that make these companies’ rockets “move.”

rocket in history

About 98% of the material thrown into the sky during takeoff is related to propulsion. And it doesn’t just get the rocket off the ground. Complicated propulsion systems are also needed to maneuver the craft once it’s in space.

With that being said, I think I have found the best investment in the space industry right now.

It’s a relatively small aerospace and defense company here in the United States. His specialty is propulsion systems, which come in handy when working with rockets and other vehicles that travel through space. In fact, it is the largest producer of space propulsion and power systems in the US.

The company also has a large customer for whom it does most of its business: NASA.

In the past, most of the business you’ve done for NASA involved the space shuttle. This includes 30 trips to and from the International Space Station; it also supplies the batteries used to keep the station running. In fact, the propulsion system he designed and built guided the shuttle through 135 missions with a 100% success rate, making it the most reliable rocket ever built in the world.

But in the future, one of the main reasons for the demand will be American manned space launches. Although we have not had a manned space launch since 2011, this activity will be reinvigorated with the goal of reaching Mars.

This will be done via NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS), which is expected to lift off for the first time in 2019. But the SLS is just the launch vehicle; the crew capsule that will carry the passengers is called the Orion, and the company I am recommending today is making the propulsion system for almost all the components of these two ships.

He really is making history with this project, as no manned spacecraft has ever been designed to take humans into deep space, potentially to Mars and even the asteroid belt.

Another project that this company has been selected to work on is the propulsion system for the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) Experimental Space Plane. In this project, it is collaborating with Boeing to build a hybrid aircraft/traditional launch vehicle that will be used to send military satellites into space.

The Department of Defense’s goal is to have this vehicle fully functional and tested by 2020. So while this is a smaller project, it’s still something to come for years to come.

A phase of sudden growth

Of course, any company can sounds like a great investment, but it still has to be financially stable to really be a great investment.

that’s why I think Aerojet Rocketdyne Holdings Inc. (NYSE: AJRD) is on the brink of new revenue growth due to the revitalized space program.

This year, its first-half sales were up 13% after growing just 4% in the previous two years combined. And over the past year, revenue expectations have increased. A year ago, Aerojet was not supposed to earn more than a billion until 2020.

You know a company is in a growth spurt when its expected revenue accelerates in three years.

Finally, when a business enters a growth phase, it is important to ensure that it has enough cash to finance its future operations. Over the past two years, Aerojet has raised millions in cash from operations, essentially doubling its cash position in anticipation of its future projects.

Looking at Aerojet’s share price, it is obvious that the market has discovered the growth potential of the company. The stock is up 100% over the past year. But I still believe that it has a lot of room to grow in the future.

As a company, Aerojet is still low in value, which equates to less than a year and a half of revenue. And very soon it will be generating more than its value in just one year.

Overall, in the aerospace and defense industry, it’s the seventh cheapest company in terms of valuation out of 28 companies, and that’s after its price went up 100% in the last year.

Clearly, as Aerojet continues to grow, more and more investors will realize its potential and buy its shares.