All articles tagged with #spacex
SpaceX launched Northrop Grumman's Cygnus XL cargo ship NG-24 atop a Falcon 9 from Cape Canaveral, delivering about 11,000 pounds (4,990 kg) of science gear and supplies to the International Space Station. The Cygnus XL, named S.S. Steven R. Nagel, will be grappled by Canadarm2 on April 13, marking the second Cygnus XL flight, while the booster returned to a Cape Canaveral landing about eight minutes after liftoff.
FT Alphaville warns that SpaceX’s IPO could include a lock-up waiver allowing insiders to dump shares on day one, undermining investor protections and retail investors’ ability to sue under Section 11; experts advocate a short, 90-day lock-up to preserve tracing after Slack v. Pirani, but the SEC has not acted, leaving the largest IPO in history with a weakened safety net.
As Artemis 2 heads home, NASA says Artemis 3 is on track for 2027 to test docking and a crewed lunar landing with SpaceX Starship HLS and Blue Origin's Blue Moon, while orbit choices and lander readiness remain under discussion and a recent Inspector General report flags gaps in testing and crew-survival analyses.
SpaceX is courting major investors as Elon Musk’s space and AI ventures undergo leadership churn, with exclusive visits to SpaceX facilities like Starbase and xAI’s Colossus data centers planned ahead of what could be a blockbuster IPO; the wave of senior exits at xAI, including CFO Anthony Armstrong, has raised questions about how the SpaceX–xAI empire will be governed.
SpaceX’s IPO could be the largest ever, valued around $2 trillion with up to $75 billion potentially raised for Elon Musk, but bankers fear a flood of post-offering selling as insiders cash out. One proposed fix is a gradual, threshold-driven release of insider stock—potentially over $1 trillion across months—rather than a single cliff at the standard 180-day lock-up. SpaceX’s unusually small float (less than 5%) and long fundraising history heighten selling pressure, a concern echoed for OpenAI and Anthropic as they eye trillion-dollar IPOs. The article notes precedents like Alibaba, Datadog, and Beyond Meat in shaping lock-up strategies, though SpaceX did not comment.
SpaceX's blockbuster IPO could resemble meme-stock trading due to its strong narrative, a loyal founder-following, and a valuation boosted by future potential. With a large portion of shares slated for retail investors and post‑lockup volatility expected, analysts warn the stock could be highly volatile as social momentum and new investor interest collide with traditional demand, in a deal potentially aiming to raise up to $75 billion at about a $1.75 trillion valuation.
A fire and explosion erupted during a Raptor 3 engine test at SpaceX’s McGregor, Texas facility as Starship Version 3 moves toward its May debut. Video shows flames and a smoke plume from the test stand; the Raptor 3 engine delivers about 280 tons of thrust. SpaceX says the incident may be an anomaly and is unlikely to delay Starship’s inaugural flight, which has been rescheduled multiple times in recent months.
SpaceX’s Starship V3 Raptor 3 engine test at Starbase Texas ended in a dramatic explosion, highlighting the hurdles as the company pushes toward orbital flights, lunar/Mars missions, and an IPO. While the test may yield useful data, the blowup could delay Starship V3’s first flight (set for May) and the June IPO, complicating Artemis-related plans and the concept of in-orbit refueling by another Starship.
SpaceX-backed xAI is overhauling its engineering organization ahead of a potential SpaceX IPO, naming Michael Nicholls as xAI president and appointing new leads for pre-training, post-training, and product/infrastructure, while cofounders depart and staff cuts continue; the changes are effective immediately as the company pursues a rapid rebuild to close the gap with rivals.
Intel has joined SpaceX, xAI, and Tesla in the Terafab chipmaking project, aiming to refactor silicon fab technology in Austin to produce ultra-high‑performance chips for AI inference, edge computing, and possibly space‑based training, with a target of about 1 TW/year of compute; the deal helped lift Intel’s stock and signals a strategic shift as it chips away at AI‑chip leadership.
SpaceX, possibly merging with xAI and led by Elon Musk, could command a $1.75–$2 trillion IPO that may reshape the S&P 500 and draw investment away from the Magnificent Seven. While SpaceX’s moat spans reusable rockets, Starlink, and AI data-center capabilities, the piece cautions against buying on day one and suggests waiting for post-launch dynamics or gaining exposure through broader indices. A June 2026 launch window is floated, with investors weighing whether to chase the hype or wait for a clearer path to value.
SpaceX says Starlink satellite 34343 suffered an on-orbit anomaly on March 29 at about 560 km (348 miles) altitude and is no longer in one piece; LeoLabs detected a fragment-creation event. SpaceX will monitor debris and pursue a root-cause fix, with no expected risk to the International Space Station, Artemis II, or Transporter-16.
Nine rocket launches are scheduled this week across the US, Russia, Kazakhstan, and China, led by NASA’s Artemis II crewed Orion mission to the Moon on SLS. SpaceX has four Starlink missions (two from Florida, two from California); ULA’s Atlas V will deploy Amazon Leo satellites; Russia plans a Meridian-M on Soyuz 2.1a from Plesetsk; Baikonur hosts the first flight of Soyuz 5; and China’s CAS Space (Kinetica 2) and Space Pioneer (Tianlong-3) will mark debuts. Artemis II carries Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Jeremy Hansen for about 10 days of tests before heading toward the Moon, while other launches test new vehicles and capabilities from multiple nations.
SpaceX says it lost contact with Starlink satellite 34343 after an anomaly; space-tracking company LeoLabs reported tens of nearby objects. SpaceX notes no new risk to the ISS or Artemis II and will monitor trackable debris as the satellite and fragments are expected to burn up in the atmosphere within a few weeks. The incident follows a similar December event in crowded low-Earth orbit (~560 km) as SpaceX pursues FCC licensing for up to a million satellites.
Starlink-34343 suffered an in-orbit anomaly on March 29 at about 560 km altitude, losing communications. LeoLabs detected tens of debris fragments nearby and warned more could exist, though SpaceX and LeoLabs downplayed risk to the ISS and Artemis 2, noting the debris should deorbit within weeks due to the low altitude. SpaceX followed the event with a Falcon 9 Transporter-16 launch carrying 29 Starlink satellites roughly six hours later, while the company works to determine the root cause and implement corrective actions.