President Donald J. Trump doesn’t seem content with his vast real estate empire here on Earth.

It’s not that he’s bored with his hotels, casinos, and golf courses scattered around the U.S.

No, he wants the nation to become a formidable space power.

And that’s why he has his eyes squarely on the moon.

Don’t scoff. It could be worth a fortune.

I’m not suggesting he plans to put his name on any structure that might be built there in the coming years – nothing like Trump Moon.

But he definitely wants to break ground there as soon as possible. Let me explain.

Trump recently signed an executive order to allow the U.S. to mine water and other lunar natural resources.

NASA hasn’t set date for wining mining will begin. But the agency intends to have us there in fairly short order.

Let me show why a storied aerospace leader is set to rake in a small fortune as a result…

Back to the Moon

Now then, the new effort to get us back to the moon is named Artemis, named for the sister of the Greek god Apollo.

It is planned in 3 initial stages, with the third stage landing astronauts on the southern end of the moon where water was recently discovered.

The timeline for this project is certainly ambitious – this is all supposed to happen by 2024. The first test stage, Artemis 1, is set for testing next year.

And the mission is hardly about collecting rocks and hitting golf balls or 4-wheeling across the lunar surface. Artemis is far more complex than simply sending a rocket to the moon with a couple of astronauts.

This time around, Artemis is about developing an entire system that will allow the U.S. to access the moon regularly and relatively easily, with a way station.

The key component to Artemis’ efforts is a Space Launch System, which is basically a space station that will make elliptical, 6-day orbits around Earth. This gives docking space ships easy access to the moon.

But accomplishing this is one of the most complex and ambitious endeavors the agency has taken on in decades. NASA already has committed $17 billion to the effort, with billions more to follow.

And my favorite company in the space race has landed the $2.7 billion contract for the orbiter.

Roots and Wings, Literally

Lockheed Martin Corp. (LMT) has an initial contract to build 3 orbiters and has dubbed the craft Orion. And there’s an additional request for 3 more at $900 million each.

The company expects that to bring in about $820 million in operational profit just on the Orion project. Next year, Artemis 1 will orbit the Earth and then send an unmanned Orion on a journey around the moon and back.

In 2023, Artemis 2 will do the same with a crew. The 21-day mission will test life support functions and other systems for the astronauts.

And in 2024, Artemis 3 is scheduled to land astronauts on the moon for the first time since 1972. There are 8 Artemis missions planned through 2028, and that’s a new Orion every time.

Plenty to Like Here and Above

But Artemis and planned missions to Mars are more proof that Lockheed Martin remains a powerful player in the aerospace and defense sector and will keep that top spot for years to come.

Lockheed Martin is the largest defense contractor in the world, so big thinking and big projects are just another day at the office for this firm. It builds state of the art Littoral Combat Ships with screwless propulsion systems.

It has a new helicopter system that can operate tactically and be used as a transport workhorse. It builds next-generation F-16, F-22, and F-35 fighters as well as a number of other key aircraft.

And that doesn’t even touch on all its systems and platforms to support all of these programs as well as the networked battlefield, not to mention intelligence and surveillance work.

So, it makes perfect sense that when NASA decided to go back to the moon and the administration looked toward the stars, the first company it wanted on board was Lockheed Martin.

Since the mid-1960s, Lockheed’s Sea Hawk helicopters have been picking up astronauts that have returned from space. And now it will be helping get them to the moon as well.

It even has a lunar lander that will provide payload delivery services once on the moon’s surface.

And as for Mars, Lockheed already has a plan for that. On its Mars Base Camp web page, the firm discusses its plan for heading to the red planet using technology it’s developing now for the Artemis program, as well as new concepts like solar electric propulsion.

The Numbers Tell the Story

Add it all up and you can see that LMT stands to profit handsomely from Trump and NASA’s space initiatives.

The company is nothing short of a profit powerhouse. Over the last three years, it has grown per-share earnings by an average 23%, meaning they double roughly every 3.2 years.

Over the past five years – that includes today’s bear market – the stock is up nearly 106%. By contrast the bellwether S&P 500 is up roughly one-third that amount, coming in at 39.5%.

LMT is landing scores of huge projects to grow at this pace for years. This is why I continue to recommend this stellar stock as a play on space exploration, satellite technology, and national defense.

All that and it even delivers a solid 2.5% dividend to boot in a zero-rate environment.

In other words, this really is a stock that can give your portfolio a huge liftoff – and keep it soaring.

So, if you are not ready to buy right now, then at the very least, LMT should be on your tech-wealth watchlist.

Cheers and good investing,

Michael A. Robinson

Source: Strategic Tech Investor