Elon Musk's SpaceX on Tuesday night launched the ninth test flight of its Starship rocket, a critical component in the Tesla CEO's vision of colonizing Mars. However, Starship experienced an explosion for the third test in a row. Meanwhile, Rocket Lab and other SpaceX competitors surged.
SpaceX conducted the test flight around 7:37 p.m. ET on Tuesday. The mission planned to deploy eight Starlink simulator satellites and test its reentry system with 100 removed heat-shield tiles, according to reports. The initial launch and ascent was a success. All 33 booster rockets ignited and it marked the first time that SpaceX successfully reused a Super Heavy booster.
However, the first-stage Super Heavy booster broke apart about six minutes into the flight, after beginning its landing burn to return to the atmosphere after separation.
The Starship ship itself reached its suborbital trajectory. But the vehicle was unable to deploy the dummy satellites because the payload door did not open fully, prompting SpaceX to nix that portion of the test. About 30 minutes into the flight, mission control lost contact with Starship. The vehicle began flying out of control due to a leak in the ship's fuel tank. Starship then experienced another "rapid unscheduled disassembly," according to SpaceX, which is the company's euphemism for an explosion. The debris is expected to land in the Indian Ocean.
SpaceX's prior two flights also ended in explosions minutes after takeoff, but the latest test made it farther in its flight path.
Still, Musk touted Tuesday as a success. "Starship made it to the scheduled ship engine cutoff, so big improvement over last flight," he posted on X. "Also, no significant loss of heat shield tiles during ascent."
Musk noted that leaks caused the a loss of main tank pressure during the coast and reentry phase of the flight and that there is a lot of "good data" to review.
SpaceX's launch cadence for the next three flights will be faster, according to Musk: one every three to four weeks.
Meanwhile, Musk plans to send the first Starships to Mars by 2026, according to a September 2024 social media post. At the time, he planned to send the first crewed flights to Mars by 2028, with the goal of establishing a self-sustaining city by 2044. However, that timeline has been delayed. Musk in 2016 aimed to send humans to Mars by 2024.
Rocket Lab Sees Target Hike
Rocket Lab stock pared its advance to less than 1% Wednesday, adding to its 13% gain on Tuesday prior to SpaceX's launch.
Stifel on Wednesday lifted its price target on Rocket Lab stock to 34 from 29 and kept a buy rating on the shares, according to reports. The company on Tuesday announced a deal to acquire the parent of Geost, an Arizona-based provider of electro-optical and infrared payload deployment systems for national security satellites. The $275 million deal marks Rocket Lab's formal entry into the satellite payload segment and adds to its end-to-end national security space solutions. Rocket Lab expects the deal to close in the second half of 2025.
Stifel said it is "encouraged" by the deal and said the payload segment creates "a new category" and positions the company as a "disruptor for the national security space."
SpaceX Rival Stocks
Boeing shares rose a fraction on Wednesday after ticking down on Tuesday. BA stock is up more than 18% in 2025.
Lockheed Martin declined 1.4% Wednesday following its 1.7% advance on Tuesday. LMT stock has fallen 3.3% this year.
Virgin Galactic retreated 3.7% Wednesday. Shares fell 4.3% on Tuesday. SPCE stock has tumbled almost 42% year-to-date.
You can follow Harrison Miller for more stock news and updates on X/Twitter @IBD_Harrison
