# Space Valves AI visibility audit

> Space Valves (space-valves.com) was named in 43% of 80 answers from ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini and Perplexity to buyer questions that did not mention it (95% range 32–53%, October 2026). The site AI linked most instead: valcor.com (27 citations).

- Audited site: https://space-valves.com
- Category: Aerospace Manufacturing
- Sampled: 2026-10-02
- Audit by: Ivan Karaman (https://ivankaraman.com)
- Full report: https://ivankaraman.com/audit/space/space-valves.com

## The numbers

- Unprompted mention rate: 43% of 80 answers (95% Wilson range 32–53%).
- Own site linked as a source: 34 of 80 answers.
- Sample quality: solid.

| Engine | Model | Named | Rate | 95% range |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ChatGPT | gpt-5.4-mini | 6 of 20 | 30% | 15–52% |
| Claude | claude-haiku-4.5 | 8 of 20 | 40% | 22–61% |
| Gemini | gemini-2.5-flash | 9 of 20 | 45% | 26–66% |
| Perplexity | sonar | 11 of 20 | 55% | 34–74% |

## The buyer questions asked

Each question was asked 4 times on every engine, with web search on. The business name was never in the question.

- "Who are the top check valve manufacturers that work with new space launch vehicle companies?"
- "We need cryogenic valve qualification testing including vibration and thermal cycling, who can do this?"
- "Our lunar lander program needs a reliable check valve supplier before our next milestone review, who should we contact?"
- "Is there an aerospace relief valve manufacturer based around Washington we could visit in person?"
- "How do I choose between valve suppliers for a reusable launch vehicle program?"

## Who AI cited instead

| Site | Type | Times linked |
|---|---|---|
| valcor.com | Competitor | 27 |
| linkedin.com | Community | 18 |
| marotta.com | Competitor | 18 |
| precisionfluidcontrols.com | Competitor | 15 |
| theleeco.com | Other source | 13 |
| ntrs.nasa.gov | Reference | 13 |
| aerodynecontrols.us | Other source | 10 |
| us.metoree.com | Other source | 8 |
| experiorlabs.com | Other source | 8 |
| itis-nl.com | Other source | 8 |
| velan.com | Other source | 8 |
| aerospace.circor.com | Other source | 7 |

- **Valcor Engineering**: Dedicated missiles-and-space check-valve pages plus an application note on chatter, with heritage language engines can quote without a datasheet download.
- **Marotta Controls**: Named programs, a NASA spinoff trail, satnow part pages with space heritage flagged yes, and a public 50,000th CoRe delivery to Rocket Lab that buyer communities already repeat.
- **Precision Fluid Controls**: Sized cryogenic check-valve catalog from 1/4 inch to 4 inch, pressure and temperature tables, and named NASA ground-test customers.

## Diagnosis

Space Valves has built a solid baseline in AI visibility. Across 80 unprompted queries, the brand achieved an overall mention rate of 42.5% (CI: 32.3% - 53.4%) and secured 34 direct citations. AI engines connect the company to lunar lander and upper stage applications, citing homepage phrasing heavily. However, when prompts shift toward strict qualification testing—like cryogenic vibration and shock—AI engines turn to competitors. Experiorlabs.com (8 citations) and marotta.com (18 citations) win these technical queries because they publish exact temperatures, fixture methods, and NASA specification standards like GSFC-STD-7000A.

Space Valves is currently losing these deep-technical recommendations because critical qualification limits are buried as homepage bullets rather than detailed on dedicated URLs. An 11-URL Squarespace site with no llms.txt, split local directories listing both Tukwila and Puyallup, and sparse JSON-LD markup gives LLMs nothing substantive to cite over Valcor's chatter explainer (27 citations) or Marotta's third-party datasheets. Furthermore, the brand is absent from engineering forums like r/SpaceXLounge, where buyers debate valve reliability and servicing. To close the gap, Space Valves must publish one indexable, comprehensive qualification dossier for the 3000 and 4000 series valves that LLMs can definitively point to.

## Technical readiness

- AI crawlers can read the site: Weak. Some paths are blocked for CCBot, GPTBot, Amazonbot, ClaudeBot, cohere-ai, Bytespider, anthropic-ai, DuckAssistBot, Google-Extended, Applebot-Extended, Meta-ExternalAgent.
- llms.txt: Missing. None yet. A plain summary of what you do, written for AI readers.
- Sitemap: OK. 11 URLs listed.
- Structured data (JSON-LD): OK. Found WebSite, LocalBusiness.
- Homepage description: OK. Set.
- agents.md: Note. Optional. Very few sites have one yet.

## What people say

- "The supply chain's been the biggest issue and concern" (Alicat Scientific case study, https://www.alicat.com/articles/valve-leak-testing-aerospace/)
- "As a startup in the aerospace community, we not only need to be cheaper and faster and higher performing, but we also need to provide better data to our customers." (Alicat Scientific case study, https://www.alicat.com/articles/valve-leak-testing-aerospace/)
- "There's a big gap right now in the market for high reliability, very well engineered ancillary components and that's what we're providing right now" (Alicat Scientific interview, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4U0jcetxFGw)
- "All the valves they use are either COTS (if it breaks you have 1000 more on the shelf), or designed and manufactured in-house." (r/SpaceXLounge, https://www.reddit.com/r/SpaceXLounge/comments/15ynj57/valves_are_a_regular_concern_at_spacex_just_like/)
- "Also nice that spaceX made them serviceable in the first place without needing to take the entire system apart unlike a certain other company." (r/SpaceXLounge, https://www.reddit.com/r/SpaceXLounge/comments/15ynj57/valves_are_a_regular_concern_at_spacex_just_like/)
- "The CoRe product line features a series of commercially available and reusable solenoid valves designed for complex commercial launch vehicle applications." (r/SpaceInvestorsDaily, https://www.reddit.com/r/SpaceInvestorsDaily/comments/1ix0n2e/marotta_controls_delivers_50000th_core_valve_to/)

## Questions and answers

**Do AI search engines recommend Space Valves?**

In 80 answers from Gemini, ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity to buyer questions from people looking for a aerospace check valve & relief valve manufacturer for launch vehicles (Oct 2026), Space Valves was mentioned in 42% of them (95% confidence interval 32%–53%).

**Which AI engine mentions Space Valves most?**

Perplexity: 55% of 20 answers (CI 34%–74%). Gemini: 45% of 20 answers (CI 26%–66%). Claude: 40% of 20 answers (CI 22%–61%). ChatGPT: 30% of 20 answers (CI 15%–52%).

**Which websites do AI engines cite when buyers look for a aerospace check valve & relief valve manufacturer for launch vehicles?**

Most cited instead of Space Valves: valcor.com, linkedin.com, marotta.com, precisionfluidcontrols.com, theleeco.com. Space Valves's own site was cited in 34 of 80 answers.

**What do AI engines say about Space Valves when asked by name?**

Asked directly about Space Valves by name, the engines named it in 100% of answers (CI 88%–100%). This is a separate measure from unprompted discovery above.

**How was this AI visibility audit measured?**

Each buyer-intent prompt was asked 4 times on each engine with live web search; an answer counts as a mention when it names Space Valves, and as a citation when it links the brand's own site. Rates carry 95% Wilson confidence intervals.

**How often do AI engines recommend Space Valves for launch vehicle check valves?**

Space Valves is recommended in 42.5% of unprompted queries (CI: 32.3% - 53.4%), with its highest visibility on Perplexity at 55.0% (CI: 34.2% - 74.2%).

**Who is outperforming Space Valves in AI recommendations?**

Valcor.com (27 citations) and Marotta.com (18 citations) lead because they publish detailed chatter-reduction application notes and third-party spec sheets.

**Why is Space Valves losing visibility on cryogenic qualification prompts?**

AI engines cite competitors like Experior Labs (8 citations) because Space Valves' test limits for vibration, thermal, and cryogenic environments are brief homepage bullets rather than a dedicated, indexable test page.

## Method

80 answers: 5 buyer questions × 4 samples × 4 engines, sampled through the engines' APIs with web search on (ChatGPT: gpt-5.4-mini, Claude: claude-haiku-4.5, Gemini: gemini-2.5-flash, Perplexity: sonar). A "mention" is the business named in the answer text; a "citation" is its own URL linked as a source. The two are counted separately. Rates carry 95% Wilson score confidence intervals. Reviewed by hand before publishing.

Source: https://ivankaraman.com/audit/space/space-valves.com