The Railroads of Space: SpaceX, Rocket Lab, and How to Invest the New Space Economy

Space just became an asset class. Q1 2026 alone saw $36 billion deployed — and the SpaceX IPO could be the first trillion-dollar offering in history.This week on Money On Tap, Ben Brayshaw and Dan Michelon walk through what they're calling the railroads of space — the picks-and-shovels companies quietly building the rails that everything else will ride on.What you'll learn:Why the SpaceX IPO is the single biggest catalyst hanging over the entire sectorThe three investable layers: access · infrastructure · application & dataA walk-through of the public names already in motion — RKLB, ASTS, IRDM, PL, RDWWhere robotics fits — and why Honeybee Robotics and Redwire matter more than people thinkThe four real risks: capital intensity, government dependence, boom-bust speculation, and SpaceX disruptionWhy an actively managed space-themed ETF may be the most prudent way for retail investors to participatePlus Money In The News:Active ETFs cross $1 trillion — and why the cost trade-off is worth it for many investorsRound Hill's DRAM ETF pulls $1B in 10 days, giving U.S. investors backdoor access to Samsung and SK Hynix$4 gas drives consumer confidence to a record-low 47.6% — lower than 2008 — and inflation expectations climb toward 4.8%Read the companion blog: brayshawfinancial.com/blogSchedule a free consultation: app.greminders.com/t/9f3ce72e/initialconsultaFull Money On Tap episode library: brayshawfinancial.com/money-on-tapContact UsPhone: 855-226-8551Email: [email protected]: 116 South River Road, Bedford, NH 03110Web: brayshawfinancial.comWhy doesn't inflation feel like the official 3%?Because inflation is the rate at which prices rise, while affordability is the level of prices you have to live with — and that level never resets. Retirees also buy a different basket than the CPI emphasizes: shelter costs, insurance, property taxes, healthcare, prescriptions, food, and fuel, several of which run far hotter than headline inflation. Oil compounds it, touching every leg of the delivery chain. A resilient retirement plan stress-tests income needs well above the Fed's target and fights back with pricing-power equities, reasonable bond yields, guaranteed lifetime income for core expenses, and tax mitigation that lets you keep more of every distribution.