Voyager Technologies, Wall Street's latest initial public offering, rocketed into the stratosphere on Wednesday in its first day of trading on the New York Stock Exchange. Shares more than doubled from their offering price before cooling off a bit.

The defense and space tech company counts Palantir Technologies, NASA, Lockheed Martin, and the Air Force as customers.

The stock, trading under the ticker VOYG, opened at $67, 116% above the offering price of $31. The stock quickly climbed as high as $73.95 and later pulled back to close around $57. That is still 82% higher than the offering price. Voyager had originally set a price range of $26 to $29.

Voyager has also raised the size of its stock sale from 11 million shares to 12.35 million. At $57 a share, Voyager is worth about $3.5 billion on a fully diluted basis.

The listing comes on the heels of last week's blockbuster IPO from stablecoin company Circle Internet Group and ahead of the debut of the online banking services company Chime Financial on Thursday.

Voyager has a $217.5 million contract with NASA to design Starlab, a commercial space station that would replace the International Space Station when it is decommissioned in 2030. NASA is Voyager's largest customer, accounting for more than a quarter of the company's $144.2 million in total sales last year.

Revenue grew 6% from a year ago and another 14% in this year's first quarter. But losses are escalating as well. The company posted a $65.6 million net loss in 2024, compared with a $25.2 million net loss in 2023. And it lost another $27.9 million in the first quarter.

Still, demand for space tech companies remains robust.

For example, Karman Holdings, which helps design, test, and manufacture mission-critical systems for missile, defense, and space programs, went public in February at a price of $22 a share. It has more than doubled since then.

Before the IPO, PitchBook research analyst Ali Javaheri wrote that the strong reception for both Voyager and Karman "show how eager investors remain for companies that sit at the intersection of civil and military space applications."

Javaheri added that "with dozens of unicorns across launch, propulsion, and on-orbit services, we could see a potential wave of public-market exits for space tech companies."

Voyager in particular, he said, is well-positioned to take part in national security contracts such as President Donald Trump's plans for a Golden Dome missile-defense shield.

An early Voyager investor also thinks its listing is a key moment for the still nascent industry.

"Voyager Technologies' IPO is a significant milestone, not only for the company but also for the broader space sector, indicating its progression towards greater commercial maturity," said Rob Desborough, managing director of Seraphim Space Investment Trust, a venture-capital firm that bought pre-IPO shares in 2022.

Desborough noted Voyager's stock sale could "pave the way for a wave of public offerings from other high-quality space companies."

Cue the famous line from Star Trek: It looks like space might be the final frontier for investors as well as astronauts.