Stay updated with the latest stock market news and insights
Weekly insights + SMS alerts
Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (NASDAQ: SPCX) is moving Starship closer to the center of its commercial strategy as the company targets lower launch costs, a much larger Starlink network and future orbital computing infrastructure.
The stock traded higher Monday, bucking a broader market decline as rising Treasury yields and higher crude oil prices weighed on technology stocks. The Nasdaq fell 0.58%, while the S&P 500 declined 0.47%.
SpaceX plans to use Starship Flight 14 for the rocket system's first orbital mission and, according to CFO Bret Johnsen, its first revenue-generating commercial launch, CNBC reported on Monday.
The nearly 10-hour mission will carry the first 26 next-generation Starlink V3 satellites into low Earth orbit.
SpaceX will not attempt to catch the booster with its launch tower during the mission. Instead, the company plans controlled ocean landings for its hardware.
Successfully bringing Starship online remains critical to SpaceX's longer-term growth plans. The larger rocket could carry substantially more cargo into space and sharply reduce launch costs.
SpaceX also plans to use Starship's greater capacity to support orbital data centers, which could eventually provide large amounts of computing capacity in space.
The Starlink V3 satellites represent another major step in SpaceX's satellite-internet strategy. The new generation offers a 10-fold increase in bandwidth capacity over V2 satellites.
CEO Elon Musk sees substantially greater long-term potential for the network.
“It is increasingly probable that Starlink will carry a majority of Earth's IP traffic long-term. At that point, Starlink would de facto become the internet, and everything else would connect to Starlink,” Musk said.
That outlook makes Starship increasingly important because SpaceX needs greater launch capacity to deploy larger and more capable Starlink satellites efficiently.
Starship could also reshape SpaceX's existing launch business. The company is expected to eventually wind down its workhorse Falcon rocket fleet as Starship becomes operational.
The transition could lower SpaceX's own launch costs while increasing the amount of payload it can deliver on each mission.
However, the shift may also create openings for competing launch providers. Rivals see an opportunity to capture business as SpaceX eventually reduces its reliance on Falcon rockets.
Flight 14 therefore represents more than another rocket launch for SpaceX. The mission connects the company's Starship program directly with revenue generation, next-generation Starlink deployment, lower launch costs and its longer-term ambition to build computing infrastructure in orbit.
Market data updates showed a rapid reversal in the mission status.
At 9:04 a.m., market data reported that Starship had suffered an engine failure in space and would not enter orbit or deploy its V3 Starlink satellites. However, SpaceX later changed course.
By 9:13 a.m., market data reported that SpaceX had decided to attempt orbit. At 9:18 a.m., the company said Starship had reached orbit for the first time.
Seven minutes later, Starship began deploying the first of 26 Starlink satellites, with one satellite scheduled for deployment every minute.
Significance: Because SPCX carries such a heavy weight in these funds, any significant inflows or outflows for these ETFs will likely force automatic buying or selling of the stock.
SPCX Price Action: SpaceX shares were trading up 1.32% at $150.65 at the time of publication on Monday, according to market data.
Real-time alerts on price moves, news, and trading opportunities.
Join 20,000+ investors. No spam, ever.
