Space stocks rallied Monday on news that NASA is opening up contracts for its Artemis 3 Moon mission to compete against Elon Musk's SpaceX, which is running behind schedule. Rocket Lab, Intuitive Machines, Planet Labs, and Karman all advanced.
"I'm in the process of opening that contract up," Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy told Fox & Friends on Fox News Monday morning, Reuters reported. Duffy serves as acting NASA administrator. "I think we'll see companies like Blue (Origin) get involved, and maybe others." Blue Origin is a space exploration company founded by Jeff Bezos and a rival to SpaceX.
"We're going to have a space race in regard to American companies competing to see who can actually get us back to the moon first," Duffy continued.
NASA's Artemis 3 mission plans to send a crew of four to the Moon for a surface mission, where they will explore the lunar South Pole to collect data and samples and hopefully expand humanity's understanding of the solar system. The roughly 30-day mission is expected to launch in mid-2027. The Artemis 3 mission has launched a mini space race between the U.S. and China, which is planning for a crewed lunar landing by 2030.
NASA intends to use a SpaceX Starship rocket for the launch. But Duffy told Fox & Friends on Monday that SpaceX is not on schedule. That could risk delaying the U.S. mission until after China launches.
"They're behind schedule, and so the president wants to make sure we beat the Chinese," Duffy said.
Meanwhile, the Artemis 2 mission appears to be on track. That mission is a 10-day crewed flight around the Moon, which involves systems built by Boeing, Northrop Grumman and Lockheed Martin, Reuters reported. The Artemis 2 mission is scheduled for an April launch, but could be moved up to February, Duffy added.
Bezos and Blue Origin CEO Dave Limp reportedly spoke with President Donald Trump during the summer amid his spat with Musk, Reuters reported.
Space Stocks Jump
Rocket Lab stock pared its Monday advance to 1.6%, continuing to climb toward its record high of 73.97 from last week.
Intuitive Machines popped 4% Monday. Shares on Oct. 10 broke out above a 13.70 cup buy point but triggered a sell rule last week.
Planet Labs gained 3.4%, while AST SpaceMobile reversed to tick down 0.8%.
Karman swung 4.3% higher Monday.
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