Is Redwire a Millionaire-Maker Stock?

The upcoming SpaceX IPO is making investors pay closer attention to other space-related stocks.

Redwire focuses on the picks and shovels side of the industry.

Elon Musk's space industrial giant, SpaceX , is expected to launch its much-anticipated initial public offering (IPO) this week. But while the stock isn't available yet, that hasn't stopped eager investors from bidding up the valuations of other space-related companies.

Redwire (NYSE: RDW) is a great example, with its share up by a whopping 105% so far this year. Let's dig deeper to find out if this rally is the start of a long-term bull run or just a temporary hype-driven boom.

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Unlike SpaceX, Redwire is far from a household name. The company got its start just six years ago when the private equity company AE Industrial Partners combined two of its holdings (Adcole Space and Deep Space Systems) into one entity.

Performance has been choppy in the years following the stock's direct listing through a merger with a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC). That said, Redwire has recently started booming amid several important macroeconomic and company-specific tailwinds.

For starters, Redwire is in a good position to capitalize on the growing push toward militarization and next-generation combat capabilities. This megatend arguably started with the Russian invasion of Ukraine in early 2022 and intensified with the ongoing U.S. war with Iran. Redwire serves this market through its defense tech segment, which focuses on delivering autonomous combat drones and various types of navigation and optical hardware to support surveillance and intelligence gathering.