SpaceX NASDAQ:SPCX, Elon Musk's rocket and satellite company, is preparing another major Starship test on Thursday after last week's launch attempt was automatically aborted at liftoff. The flight is targeted for 5:45 p.m. local time from the company's Starbase facility in South Texas and will represent Starship's 13th test flight and the second mission involving the latest V3 version. During the previous attempt, smoke appeared around the launch tower while the rocket remained in place, and Musk later said that some engines had failed to ignite. SpaceX subsequently planned to remove and replace two engines before making another launch attempt. The upcoming mission will carry 20 upgraded Starlink satellites that are expected to deploy their solar arrays, connect with the wider Starlink network through laser communications and then burn up in the atmosphere around 20 minutes after deployment.
The test arrives after SpaceX's record $86 billion initial public offering in June, placing greater investor attention on the company's ability to manage Starship's delays, malfunctions and development setbacks. SpaceX shares declined about 3% in U.S. postmarket trading after the aborted attempt and continued falling the following day, leaving the company's market value $1 trillion below the peak reached on its third trading day. Tigress Financial Partners, an investment firm represented in the article by Chief Investment Officer Ivan Feinseth, said the failed attempt highlighted execution risks surrounding SpaceX's goal of achieving frequent and reusable Starship operations. Feinseth suggested that continued delays could postpone expected revenue and margin progress. Quilty Space, a space-industry consulting firm, offered a different interpretation, with research director Caleb Henry suggesting that some investors may not fully understand the space sector or SpaceX's strategy of testing frequently, learning from failures and improving its rockets over time.
Starship remains central to Musk's plans to expand the Starlink communications network, place data centers in space and eventually send humans to the moon and Mars. SpaceX has invested more than $15 billion in the vehicle and designed both the Super Heavy booster and Starship spacecraft to return to Earth intact for reuse, an objective the source said no other rocket manufacturer has achieved. The company also holds approximately $4 billion in NASA contracts connected to landing astronauts on the moon as early as 2028, although Starship has not yet completed a full orbital mission and would still need to demonstrate in-space refueling, repeated launches and human safety. During Thursday's planned flight, the Super Heavy booster is expected to ignite 33 Raptor engines before separating and attempting a splashdown in the Gulf of Mexico, while Starship will try to relight an engine in space and later splash down in the Indian Ocean roughly one hour after liftoff. Investors may view the test as an important indication of whether SpaceX can move closer to the high-frequency, reusable launch operations supporting its broader commercial and exploration ambitions.