For decades, government space budgets were viewed mainly through civil ambition: lunar and Mars missions, Earth observation, human spaceflight, science, and national prestige. Agencies such as NASA, ESA, JAXA, ISRO, Roscosmos, and CNSA shaped this public narrative. That story still matters, but it no longer captures the full picture. Between 2021 and 2026, military space organizations became some of the fastest-growing budget centers in the global space economy. SatNxt’s Global Government Space Budget & Spending Analysis Report (2021–2026) , based on 44 space agencies and organizations, shows global government space spending rising from approximately $94.4B in 2021 to $125.9B in 2026 , with cumulative spending exceeding $688B . The headline growth is important, but the composition is more revealing: governments are increasingly treating space as a strategic layer of national security, sovereign capability, economic competitiveness, and critical infrastructure. Military Space Is Driving the Growth Curve The strongest signal in the data comes from the major military space organizations. The U.S. Space Force / DoD Space budget increased from $15.4B in 2021 to $26.3B in 2026 , maki...