Here’s how one little-known producer of beryllium, the world’s “miracle metal,” could skyrocket in coming months.

In fact, I like this stock so much, I bought some shares in the company.

When the Soviet Union launched Sputnik 1 in 1957, it was a very big deal. Only 23 inches in diameter, Sputnik 1 was the first artificial satellite to orbit Earth. Its launch triggered the Cold War Space Race and marked a new era of technological achievements.

Today, there are thousands of satellites orbiting our planet. These hunks of metal do everything from monitoring the weather to helping your car navigate, to broadcasting reruns of Seinfeld on your living room TV.

Satellites play an integral role in commercial, transportation, and military communication. Simply put, without them, our modern world would look a whole lot different.

And as technology has continued to expand, so has the number of satellites in use. In 2020, countries around the globe launched 1,283 satellites into orbit — the largest amount ever launched in any given calendar year.

So far (in 2022), it’s nearly impossible to know how many satellites are orbiting the Earth. What we do know is that more and more of them are launched nearly every day. Just take a look at the following chart, which shows how the number of active satellites in orbit has skyrocketed since 1960:

Countries around the world are launching satellites, and the leaders in this space are a throwback to the Cold War Days.

In 2020, China completed 35 orbital launches, while Russia delivered payloads into orbit 17 times.

But the good old U.S. of A. had them beat, with 40 successful launch attempts. Each launch deployed dozens or even hundreds of satellites.

But unlike the 1950s and 1960s, it’s not just NASA sending stuff up into orbit.

Instead, private companies are competing in today’s Space Race.

Elon Musk reaches for the stars…

Unless you’ve been hiding under a rock, you’ve heard all about electronic vehicle (EV) company Tesla (NSDQ: TSLA) and its controversial founder and CEO, Elon Musk.

EVs aren’t the only technology Musk has set his sights on.

The eccentric billionaire has dabbled and invested in solar panels and battery systems.

But some of his biggest bets have been in orbital and space technologies.

Twenty years ago, Musk founded Space Exploration Technologies Corp., also known as SpaceX.

It’s a company that handles aerospace manufacture, space transportation, and communications. The original objective of SpaceX was to support the colonization of Mars.

We still have a way to go before Musk can reach that lofty goal. But for now, SpaceX has still accomplished some amazing achievements.

For starters, SpaceX was the first private company to launch a liquid-propellant rocket into orbit. It was also the first private company to successfully launch, orbit, and recover a spacecraft.

And in 2020, SpaceX made global news when it delivered astronauts to the International Space Station.

The Starlink mega-constellation…

Now SpaceX is working on a new project: a network of satellites — a mega-constellation — to provide commercial internet service to the people of Earth. It’s called Starlink.

Sometimes, if you look up in the sky on a clear night, you can see a string of lights that looks like a kite. Those are Starlink satellites.

You see, SpaceX has received nearly $900 million worth of federal subsidies to use Starlink satellites to support rural broadband customers.

Just look at what Elon Musk was able to do recently when he gave Ukraine much needed internet access via Starlink.

Last year, SpaceX accounted for 25 orbital missions, each launching hundreds of miniature satellites, or smallsats.

All told, SpaceX sent nearly 1,000 smallsats into orbit in 2020 and more in 2021. But there are thousands more to come.

Back in 2019, the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) submitted filings for 30,000 satellites to the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) on SpaceX’s behalf. That’s on top of 12,000 Starlink smallsats the FCC had already approved.

And SpaceX isn’t the only company playing the satellite game.

Other players in the satellite space…

Amazon (NSDQ: AMZN) has its own orbital plans. The e-commerce giant is developing its own constellation through its subsidiary Kuiper Systems. So far, it has filed to launch 3,236 smallsats. The Kuiper project aims to provide broadband internet services to the tens of millions of people here on Earth who lack basic online access.

And then there’s OneWeb, another broadband satellite company that plans to launch 6,372 satellites.

Toss in smaller satellite constellation projects, such as those from Globalstar (NYSE: GSAT), Telesat (NSDQ: TSAT), and Orbcomm, and you can see it’s getting pretty busy up there!

Clearly, this is an investment theme that holds a lot of potential profits for savvy investors.

But what’s the best way to play the 21st-century Space Race?

Beryllium: the miracle metal…

Our favorite way to play the mega-constellation boom is by investing in beryllium, the miracle metal that’s a critical component of satellites.

It’s no exaggeration to call beryllium a “miracle metal.”

Beryllium is a hard, gray, steel-like metal. It’s considered one of the alkaline earth metals and can be found in the Earth’s crust, in volcanic rocks, and in gems such as emeralds and aquamarines.

Beryllium is 60% lighter than aluminum and six times stronger than steel. It’s the perfect construction material not only for satellites, but also for fighter jets, spacecraft, and everything else that requires both low weight and high strength.

It has one of the highest melting points of all metals on the planet. So it’s been forged into space capsule heat shields that protect astronauts from extreme temperatures while traveling to and from space.

The metal’s high electrical conductivity and ability to withstand extremely high temperatures have led to the invention of the first automotive electronic automotive ignition system. This system has reduced pollution levels from cars by 20% and saved billions of gallons of gasoline.

But beryllium can also withstand very low temperatures, too. The metal has recently been used in the construction of 18 polished mirrors that are components of NASA’s new James Webb Space Telescope. The telescope has been built to operate in subfreezing temperatures down to -370 degrees Fahrenheit.

Beryllium is also highly resistant to rust and corrosion. So it’s used to connect the communication lines through which 99% of all international data is transmitted. It’s also a component of earthquake monitoring systems more than six miles below sea level.

To add to the list, beryllium is also transparent to certain forms of radiation. This has made it critical in devices that focus and control beams in medical X-ray machines, computed tomography (CT) scanners, and medical lasers.

Beryllium also has many more mundane uses. It’s a component in the manufacture of cellphones, watches, video cameras, navigation devices, and video game consoles.

Beryllium alloys are in demand, too…

Beryllium can also be used to make metal alloys like beryllium copper and beryllium nickel. Because beryllium can withstand huge swings in temperature, these alloys are popular for making tools used near flammable gases. Beryllium alloys are also used for surgical and precision instruments.

Beryllium nickel is also integral to current airbag and antilock braking systems, the combination of which has saved countless lives around the world.

And an alloy of beryllium and aluminum, called Beralcast, is the preferred metal alloy used in the manufacture of helicopters and satellite guidance systems. That’s because it’s three times as stiff and 25% lighter than pure aluminum.

There’s very little this miracle metal can’t do.

That’s why a 2008 report from the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) stated that beryllium is currently the only metal in use that’s “critical to national defense” and that the DoD “should continue to take special actions necessary to maintain a long-term domestic supply of high-purity beryllium.”

The world’s go-to beryllium producer…

So what’s the best way to invest in this miracle metal?

Luckily, you don’t have to go halfway around the world to find the best beryllium company.

Materion Corp. (NYSE: MTRN) has been exploring the potential of the miracle metal for a century.

Founded in 1921 as Brush Laboratories, the company was a pioneer in the extraction of beryllium from ore and the production of alloys. Ten years later, the company was incorporated as Brush Beryllium Co. in Cleveland, Ohio.

During World War II, Brush’s products were used to forge parts for aircraft and naval ships. And the company supplied more than half of the U.S.’s copper beryllium requirements.

In 2011, the company, then known as Brush Engineered Materials Inc., unified its businesses under the name Materion and began trading on the New York Stock Exchange.

Materion is currently the top domestic producer of beryllium and owns the world’s largest known reserve of bertrandite ore from which the miracle metal is extracted.

The company exports beryllium from its mines in Utah to Europe and Asia. Materion supplies its products to both commercial businesses around the world.

You see, the United States is the top producer of beryllium on Earth.

And Materion is the U.S.’s biggest beryllium producer.

Simply put, Materion is the world’s go-to when it comes to beryllium and its alloys. And the metal that Materion process is used in virtually every important industry, from communications to defense, from energy to healthcare.

In fact, Materion has supplied the beryllium components for nearly every NASA mission to Mars.

A 1,200% opportunity…

And as the world clamors for more beryllium — and as the new Space Race requires more satellites made of the metal — Materion is poised to skyrocket.

As I write, Materion is currently sitting around $80 per share. I don’t think it’s too much of a stretch to expect the company’s stock to blast off to $800 or more in the coming months, as SpaceX and other companies build thousands of new satellites.

That would reflect a gain of more than 1,200%.

Now is the time to invest in Materion, before the rest of Wall Street finds out and its shares get too pricey.