Orbital Sciences Corp. (ORB) looked like an also-ran in the space race about two years ago, eclipsed by billionaire Elon Musks startup venture.

Orbital was trading near its five-year low while Musks Space Exploration Technologies Corp., or SpaceX, made history in May 2012 by docking a cargo ship at the International Space Station.

Today, Orbital is soaring on plans to combine with Alliant Techsystems Inc. (ATK)s aerospace and defense businesses, tripling revenue and uniting two longtime launch partners. Alliant helps power the Antares rocket, key to Orbitals growth in the estimated $7 billion market for building and launching midsized satellites and spacecraft.

Were still not going to be a $30 billion-level company, but well be well-positioned in bringing the right combination of innovation and affordability, David W. Thompson, chairman and chief executive officer of Orbital, said in a phone interview after the announcement yesterday.

Thompson, 60, will be CEO of the new company, created by the years end in a $5 billion, all-stock deal. Orbital surged 17 percent yesterday to close at $30.96 in New York, the biggest gain in more than 11 years. The shares, which sank to a five-year low in June 2012, have risen 75 percent in the past year, reflecting the companys success in reaching the space station.

Unlike SpaceX, Orbital has no plans to jump into the riskier businesses of ferrying astronauts to the station or launching big military and spy satellites.

Theres the Goldilocks effect here, Thompson said earlier this month at the companys headquarters in Dulles, Virginia. You can fail by not reaching far enough, and you can also sometimes stumble by reaching too far.

Orbital officials expect to boost sales in an austere federal budget environment in part by focusing on midsized missions, which include the flights to the space station under a National Aeronautics and Space Administration contract.

The midsized missions accounted for roughly $350 million, or more than a quarter of Orbitals sales last year. By the end of the decade, they may generate $1 billion, Thompson said.

Thompson said he doesnt regret losing the opportunity to develop a commercial crew program for NASA. The agency instead has funded efforts by several companies to develop spacecraft capable of carrying astronauts -- including SpaceX, Boeing Co. (BA) and Blue Origin LLC, a Kent, Washington-based company founded by Jeff Bezos, CEO of Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN)

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Orbital Sciences Soars Out of Musks Shadow in Space Race