Satellites used to be rare objects built by hand — hundreds of millions of dollars each, years in the making. But once the world wanted "thousands, even tens of thousands" of satellites to weave a network in orbit, the way to build them had to change — from "polishing one gem at a time" to "a factory stamping units off a line." This is the story of an industry that turned from a cathedral into a factory, and of the companies that build the hardware to fill orbit.
NASA in Talks for Boeing Starliner to Fly 10 or More New Missions
NASA and Boeing are in talks about using Boeing's Starliner vehicle to handle 10 or more new flights to low-Earth orbit in the coming years, The Wall Street Journal reported Friday. The Starliner has not flown since summer 2024, when performance problems including failed thrusters that posed safety risks left two astronauts stuck on the International Space Station for months; the astronauts returned to Earth on SpaceX's Crew Dragon vehicle, and the Starliner came back empty. SpaceX's Crew Dragon has been the only certified vehicle to carry NASA astronauts to the space station from the U.S., but SpaceX has stopped making new Dragon ships and has not said publicly when it plans to stop operating the ship. NASA said Friday it awarded SpaceX three additional astronaut missions to the space station using Crew Dragon, flights worth an average of $315M each and running through 2030. Few other options exist for flights to low-Earth orbit: Northrop Grumman has a cargo capsule that flies to the space station for NASA but not a human-rated one, while Russia flies vehicles to the ISS that handle crews and cargo.
Musk Hints at Tesla-SpaceX Merger as Terafab Costs Climb
Elon Musk has reignited speculation that Tesla and SpaceX could merge, telling the All-In Summit in Los Angeles on September 14 that with so much close collaboration across so many areas, "who can imagine what action one might take," and adding that combining companies "can't" be discussed on an earnings call and must follow the appropriate process. SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell, appearing alongside Musk, said SpaceX personnel had already moved into xAI to fill leadership and engineering gaps, describing the businesses as integrating "faster than I thought" though "not fully integrated yet." Tesla and SpaceX shares each fell about 2% on September 14 before edging higher in overnight trading, with TSLA recovering 0.2% and SPCX adding 0.1%. Central to the merger case is Terafab, the joint chip venture between Tesla, SpaceX and xAI confirmed in early 2026, whose first phase alone SpaceX said in a May filing would cost $55 billion, with the full buildout potentially reaching $119 billion and ARK Invest floating a long-term estimate of $1 trillion. Wedbush's Dan Ives puts the odds of a combination at 80% to 90% with a deal expected in the first half of 2027, Jefferies estimates Musk could retain roughly 55.3% voting control in a nil-premium transaction, and JPMorgan calls a tie-up strategically coherent, while BNP Paribas kept an underperform rating on Tesla and warned SpaceX's cash burn could delay any combination.
SpaceX Targets Late-2027 Orbital AI Data Centers Despite Four Unresolved Hurdles
SpaceX CEO Elon Musk is targeting a late-2027 launch for orbital AI data centers, but industry analysts say real scale is more likely a 2030s event, CNBC reported on September 6, 2026. Experts point to four unresolved hurdles: dissipating heat in a vacuum, protecting hardware from radiation, the risk that GPUs become obsolete before an expensive satellite launch pays off, and building enough ground-to-space connectivity to support hyperscale computing. SpaceX went public on the Nasdaq in June 2026 under the ticker SPCX following its merger with Musk's AI company xAI, and shares have since pulled back from a post-IPO high near $225 to around $148. Industry consultant Blaine Curcio noted that experts in the late 2010s would have considered SpaceX launching 10,000 satellites by 2025 almost impossible, yet the company achieved that scale, a track record that gives investors reason not to dismiss the orbital data-center target. Transcelestial CEO Rohit Jha identified high-volume data transfer between orbit and Earth as a key challenge and said hyperscale facilities could require nuclear power, while Neuberger's Evelyn Chow expects significant scale only after several years of satellite launches and connectivity investment, supporting a 2030s timeline rather than Musk's late-2027 target. By the end of its first full quarter as a public company, 119 hedge funds had built a combined position in SpaceX worth $116.45 billion, while Rocket Lab's holder count rose to 52 funds from 43 even as its position value dipped to $736 million from $932 million.
Baron Capital Holds $25 Billion in SpaceX as Baron Projects $1 Trillion Starlink Revenue
Baron Capital holds roughly $25 billion in SpaceX shares, and founder Ron Baron projects that Starlink alone can grow into a $1 trillion revenue line within a decade. SpaceX, trading under the ticker SPCX, closed at $150.88 on September 16, 2026, up 5.15% on the session but down 6.26% from its post-IPO reference, with a market capitalization near $1.16 trillion. SpaceX's Q2 connectivity revenue reached $4.29 billion, up 66% year over year, with enterprise and government revenue inside that line growing 108%, even as consumer ARPU slipped from $85 to $66. Baron's model rests on expanding the constellation to 100,000 satellites, with each generation deorbited every five years and replaced by hardware ten times more capable, a plan that depends on Starship V3 cutting the cost to orbit by 99% or more. SpaceX spent $18.37 billion on capex in Q2 alone, including $15.83 billion on AI compute, and placed a $25 billion inaugural investment-grade bond issuance to fund the buildout, according to Baron Capital. GAO researchers reviewing space-based data centers in April 2026 flagged that cooling at scale remains unproven because heat disperses poorly in the vacuum of space, and that on-orbit servicing is underdeveloped, undercutting Baron's claim that orbital compute costs just $2 one time. The near-term milestone to watch is the Starship V3 test-flight cadence, since a launch-economics breakthrough is the single variable that decides whether the 100,000-satellite plan is arithmetic or fiction.
SpaceX Targets September 22 for Starship Flight 14 Ahead of First Ship Catch
SpaceX is aiming for September 22nd for its Starship Flight 14, which will mark the vehicle's first attempt to reach full orbit. SpaceX CEO Elon Musk said during a virtual appearance at the All-In Summit that Flight 14 will be the last before the company attempts to catch the ship, with that catch attempt planned for Flight 15, and that SpaceX will more likely re-fly both the ship and the booster early next year. Starship is designed to be fully and rapidly reusable, with a payload capacity of 200 metric tons and an expected cost of between $2 and $5 million per flight, compared with roughly $20 million per flight for the partially reusable Falcon 9. Ark Invest's Cathie Wood predicted each Starship launch could generate $1 billion in revenue, with Musk aiming for 10,000 flights per year, or $10 trillion in Starship revenues, by 2030, and said that if SpaceX achieves this goal its $1.75 trillion IPO will be considered a deep value opportunity in hindsight. Musk replied to the thread saying, "It's not impossible."
Cathie Wood Says Orbital Data Centers Drove SpaceX to Go Public
Cathie Wood says SpaceX had no need for public markets until Elon Musk's push into orbital AI data centers forced it to raise outside capital. The ARK Invest CEO told Livewire she never thought SpaceX would go public, but that Musk now needs the scaling the public equity markets provide. SpaceX's Connectivity business, primarily Starlink, generated $4.42 billion in operating income in 2025, while its AI business lost $6.36 billion, and the equation shifted further when SpaceX acquired Musk's xAI in February. SpaceX raised about $85.7 billion in its June IPO and told investors the proceeds would help fund AI compute infrastructure alongside launch systems and satellite capacity, with AI capital spending reaching $15.83 billion in the second quarter, about 86% of total quarterly capex, according to company filings. SpaceX argues orbital computing could sidestep constraints on terrestrial data centers such as electricity, land, cooling water and permitting by tapping solar energy in orbit, though Microsoft's Project Natick showed a technically successful underwater data center that was never scaled commercially, and Kalshi puts the chance of a 1-megawatt orbital data center going live before 2031 at 30%, with $46,000 traded on the market. Musk said he is highly confident SpaceX will launch AI computers from Nvidia into orbit in 2027, with significant scale expected in 2028.
SpaceX Reclaims $150 IPO Open Price After Pentagon Confirms On-Orbit Weapons
SpaceX shares rose 5.1% to $151 in mid-morning trading Wednesday, pushing the stock back above the $150 level it first reached when it began trading June 12 following an IPO priced at $135. The catalyst was fresh policy news: U.S. defense officials confirmed on-orbit space-control weapons and highlighted progress on the Golden Dome interceptor program, tied to multibillion-dollar SpaceX contracts awarded earlier this year, pointing investors toward Starshield, SpaceX's national security satellite business, which already holds more than $6 billion in multi-year Space Force contracts for LEO-based communications and sensing. The Pentagon's FY 2027 budget request carries a $17.9 billion Golden Dome line item covering advanced space-based and terrestrial sensors, command and control, kinetic interceptors, and next-generation non-kinetic programs, and SpaceX is the only operator with a proliferated LEO constellation at production scale. The fundamental backdrop supports the move: the August 4 8-K showed Q2 revenue of $7.81 billion, beating the $6.82 billion consensus by 15%, with EPS of -$0.09 versus the -$0.29 estimate, Starlink subscribers doubling to 12.0 million, connectivity revenue up 66% year over year, and enterprise and government revenue climbing 108% on airline partnerships and Starshield contracts. Traditional missile-defense primes Lockheed Martin, RTX, and Northrop Grumman all sit inside the Golden Dome supply chain for interceptors, sensors, and integration, while pure-play space names like Rocket Lab and AST SpaceMobile tend to move with SpaceX headlines; SpaceX carries a $47.50 billion backlog and $93.52 billion in cash, alongside $18.37 billion in quarterly capex, $15.83 billion of which went into AI compute, with a market cap of roughly $1.16 trillion. Even after Wednesday's rally, SPCX trades 33% below its intraday high of $226 on June 16, and the tell into the close is whether it can hold above $151 and turn the IPO open price into support rather than a ceiling, with the next Starship V3 test flight, any Pentagon follow-on Starshield task orders, and updates on the pending $60 billion Cursor acquisition expected to close in Q3 as near-term catalysts.
Impulse Space Series D Grows to $808 Million With $308 Million Extension
Impulse Space has raised $308 million in an extension of its Series D funding round, bringing the total Series D financing to $808 million. The extension valued the company at $5.6 billion, according to a source close to the company, following a $500 million round announced in June that valued it at $4.26 billion. The startup, which builds spacecraft to move satellites and other payloads, also hired Vizio executive Adam Townsend as chief financial officer as it scales production and works to convert a growing backlog of government and commercial contracts into revenue. President and Chief Operating Officer Eric Romo told Reuters that investor demand remained strong after the round closed, allowing Impulse to raise more capital ahead of customer demand. Impulse, founded by SpaceX's first employee and former propulsion chief Tom Mueller, now has more than 600 employees and over 180 open roles, and has sold out its Caravan 2 and Caravan 3 Helios rideshare missions planned for 2028.
NIGCOMSAT Taps Hughes JUPITER Gateway for NIGCOMSAT-2A and 2B Satellites
Hughes Network Systems, an EchoStar company, announced that Nigerian Communications Satellite Limited has selected the JUPITER scalable gateway system to support its next-generation NIGCOMSAT-2A and NIGCOMSAT-2B satellites. Under the contract, Hughes will deliver a JUPITER scalable gateway designed to support capacity deployment across the new satellites, enabling multi-band operations across Ka-, Ku-, and C-bands for high-speed broadband, enterprise, and government services throughout Nigeria and the wider region. Preparation begins in 2026, establishing the ground system and a local manufacturing footprint well ahead of the satellite launches targeted for early 2028 and 2029. Hughes expects to provide technical guidance, engineering support, and advisory expertise to help enable local assembly of satellite terminals in Nigeria, an initiative aligned with the country's push for local content, indigenous capacity development, and economic diversification. Anshu Vij, Managing Director, EMEA at Hughes, said the contract reflects the strength, flexibility, and proven performance of the JUPITER platform, while NIGCOMSAT Managing Director Jane Egerton-Idehen described the partnership as a strategic industrialization initiative that will let Nigeria deploy capacity today while scaling to meet long-term connectivity needs.
Rocket Lab Expands Spacecraft Component Portfolio as 2026 EPS Growth Seen at 81.48%
Rocket Lab Corporation is expanding its spacecraft component portfolio, commercializing technologies developed for its launch vehicles and spacecraft programs, including avionics subsystems, radios and batteries. The company says its flight hardware has flown on more than 1,800 missions, an installed base it cites as the foundation for broadening its product offering. Rocket Lab's strategy extends beyond launch services into the spacecraft supply chain, aiming to widen its addressable market and capture growing constellation demand. The Zacks Consensus Estimate projects Rocket Lab earnings per share growth of 81.48% in 2026 and 240% in 2027. The stock trades at a forward 12-month price-to-sales of 31.43X versus an industry average of 7.25X, and its shares have rallied 32.2% over the past year against a 4.9% decline for the industry. Northrop Grumman and L3Harris Technologies are also named as companies providing spacecraft and space-system technologies.
VPT Launches FLX Series Scalable DC-DC Converter Power Solution
VPT, Inc., a HEICO company, announced the launch of the FLX Series, a configurable DC-DC converter power solution for mission-critical military, avionics, and space applications. The FLX Series integrates VPT's proven DC-DC converters and EMI filters into a rugged, scalable housing, supporting standard 28 V, 50 V, and 270 V bus voltages and delivering 1 W to 5,000 W of output power with efficiencies up to 90%. Each unit is configurable with multiple outputs, allowing engineers to consolidate multiple converter modules into a single qualified assembly, and units operate continuously from -55°C to as high as +110°C with no power derating. For space applications, radiation capabilities range from radiation tolerant at 30 krad(Si) / 42 MeV to radiation hardened at 100 krad(Si) / 85 MeV, depending on the selected converter model series. The FLX Series is available now, and configurations meet MIL-STD-461, MIL-STD-704, MIL-STD-1275, and DO-160.
Cathie Wood Calls $1.75 Trillion SpaceX IPO a Bargain on Starship Revenue Math
Cathie Wood is calling the $1.75 trillion SpaceX IPO a deep value bargain, arguing that a single Starship launch could generate $1 billion in revenue. The ARK Invest founder tied that figure to Elon Musk's goal of 10,000 flights a year by 2030, a cadence that would imply $10 trillion in annual revenue from Starship alone. The math rests on Starlink connectivity revenue of roughly $19 million a year per terabit per second of network capacity, with one Starship carrying about 61 Tbps, though ARK data shows that per-Tbps figure sliding from $23 million in 2024 to $19 million in 2025. The projection assumes every flight carries Starlink capacity, while Musk has framed the 10,000-flight target against commercial air travel, a business that earns no connectivity revenue. Early investors have little to show so far: SPCX priced at $135 in June and closed its first session at $161, but the stock has since spent weeks below its IPO price, and Starship has flown only twice since the listing, both suborbital, with the V3 satellites released in July re-entering and burning up within roughly 20 minutes. The next mission aims to reach Earth orbit for the first time with 26 operational V3 units and would become the first Starship launch to earn commercial revenue.
Rocket Lab has fully financed its planned $8 billion acquisition of Iridium Communications, removing a major uncertainty around the deal while introducing substantial equity dilution for shareholders. The company raised roughly $1.94 billion by issuing 29.3 million shares and eliminated the need for a previously arranged $3.6 billion bridge loan. Rocket Lab said proceeds from its completed at-the-market offering, combined with available liquidity and Iridium's existing financing, are sufficient to cover the required cash consideration and transaction expenses. Iridium also amended its $1.775 billion term-loan facility to permit the change of control, allowing that debt to remain outstanding after closing, supported by Iridium's free cash flow and a Rocket Lab parent guarantee. Rocket Lab agreed in June to acquire Iridium for $54 per share in cash and stock; Iridium generated $871.7 million of 2025 revenue and $495 million of OEBITDA. The next milestones are Iridium shareholder approval, remaining regulatory clearances including FCC consent, and progress toward the targeted mid-2027 close, with U.S. antitrust waiting periods already expired.
Berenberg Analyst Names Rocket Lab and AST SpaceMobile as Top Space Picks
Berenberg analyst Michael Filatov issued Buy ratings on Rocket Lab USA and AST SpaceMobile, arguing that falling launch costs have pushed the space economy past $500bn in 2025 and put it on track to exceed $1trn by 2030. Filatov set an $83 price target on Rocket Lab, implying 33% upside, citing the company's vertically integrated launch, manufacturing and applications model, a record $2.36 billion backlog at the end of 2Q26 that was up 137% year-over-year, and 2Q26 revenue of $234 million, up 62% year-over-year and more than $3 million above forecast, alongside a GAAP loss of $0.08 per share. Rocket Lab's Electron rocket has made 95 launches to date, including 16 in 2026, and the company has pushed the first launch of its larger Neutron rocket to early next year, with delivery to the launch pad during 4Q26. For AST SpaceMobile, Filatov set a $92 target, implying 53% upside, pointing to its BlueBird satellite constellation, more than 60 mobile network operator partnerships covering roughly 3 billion subscribers, and a $1.3 billion revenue backlog, though the company's 2Q26 GAAP loss of $0.77 per share missed estimates by $0.48. Rocket Lab carries a Strong Buy consensus with a $110.13 average target, while AST SpaceMobile holds a Moderate Buy consensus with an $88.98 average target.
Redwire Expands Microgravity Platform With 11 ISS Payload Facilities
Redwire Corporation is expanding its microgravity capabilities beyond traditional space missions into scientific research, biotechnology and advanced manufacturing. The company has built a growing microgravity platform with 11 active payload facilities on the International Space Station as of Dec. 31, 2025, and has launched 42 Pharmaceutical In-space Laboratory – Bio-crystal Optimization eXperiment, or PIL-BOX, payloads. During 2025, Redwire entered a licensing agreement with ExesaLibero Pharma under which it is eligible to receive royalties from commercial sales of resulting pharmaceutical products. Bristol Myers Squibb and Eli Lilly have both partnered with Redwire on PIL-BOX missions to study pharmaceutical molecules and crystal growth in microgravity. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2026 and 2027 earnings per share suggests year-over-year growth of 57.32% and 40%, respectively, while Redwire trades at a forward 12-month price-to-sales of 4.92X versus an industry average of 2.29X.
HawkEye 360 and Leonardo Sign MoU for Sovereign European Signals Capability
HawkEye 360, Inc. and Leonardo S.p.A. announced a Memorandum of Understanding establishing a structured collaboration to integrate HawkEye 360's radio-frequency sensing capabilities into Leonardo's Telespazio and e-Geos space service solutions for European customers. Under the MoU, Leonardo will lead overall data integration and manage institutional engagement across Europe through its geospatial solutions, while HawkEye 360 will provide dedicated RF data capacity tailored to European operational needs. The first phase focuses on integrating a customized RF layer into Leonardo's global Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance service offering, including exclusive reserved capacity for defined European areas of interest, with data delivered through Italian ground stations and EU-based cloud infrastructure to reduce latency and enhance European data sovereignty. The MoU also outlines a phased pathway for deeper collaboration, including cooperation on payload technologies such as RF localization, E/O and hyperspectral, manufacturing and hosting on respective systems, and expanded interoperability between HawkEye 360's RF analytics and Leonardo's sensing solutions. HawkEye 360 Chief Executive Officer John Serafini said the collaboration represents an important step in supporting European nations with reliable, integrated RF insights embedded within their own architectures, while Massimo Claudio Comparini, Managing Director of Leonardo's Space Division, said it strengthens Leonardo's role as a trusted European integrator of sovereign space-based intelligence.
Freedom Broker Downgrades Frequency Electronics to Hold on Valuation
Freedom Broker downgraded Frequency Electronics to Hold from Buy, calling it a valuation call rather than a deterioration in the business after the company's latest quarterly results showed record revenue, wider margins and a surge in funded backlog. Analysts Sergey Glinyanov and Zhanaidar Zulpaidar said the long-term outlook improved after fiscal first-quarter 2027 operating margin reached 22.2% and funded backlog climbed to a record $129 million, though expanding production capacity will take time and could require additional equity financing. Fiscal first-quarter revenue jumped 70% from a year earlier to a record $23.5 million, exceeding Freedom Broker's estimate by 29% and the consensus forecast of $17.9 million by 31%, with satellite revenue more than doubling to $11.8 million from $5.3 million and non-space U.S. government and defense revenue rising approximately 63% to $11.1 million from $6.9 million. Gross profit more than doubled to $10.8 million from $5.1 million as gross margin expanded to 45.8% from 36.8%, and operating income climbed to $5.2 million from $400,000. The brokerage raised its fiscal 2027 earnings estimate to $1.45 a share from $1.37, its fiscal 2028 estimate to $2.13 from $1.91 and its fiscal 2029 projection to $2.75 from $2.53, and lifted its price target to $91 from $77, representing potential upside of about 47% from the $62.06 share price cited in its Sept. 14 report.
Musk says SpaceX to launch Nvidia-powered AI computers in orbit by 2027
Elon Musk said he is highly confident SpaceX will begin launching Nvidia-powered AI computers into orbit in 2027. The systems would use Nvidia's Vera Rubin NVL72 platform, which combines 72 Rubin GPUs with 36 Vera CPUs and advanced networking hardware, and SpaceX has already said it plans to use Nvidia chips exclusively for its computing infrastructure. The company is targeting its first orbital-computing satellites next year, with significantly larger deployments expected during 2028, by modifying the same spacecraft platform used for SpaceX's V3 Starlink satellites so that instead of communications equipment they carry computing hardware and additional solar-generation capacity. SpaceX is betting orbit could eventually provide another place to build compute as AI companies are increasingly constrained by power, land and data-center capacity on Earth. For investors, 2027 will be the first meaningful test, and if SpaceX can successfully launch and operate Nvidia-powered computing satellites, Nvidia could gain an entirely new infrastructure market while SpaceX moves closer to turning orbital AI from an engineering experiment into a commercial business.
Musk Says SpaceX to Put Nvidia AI Systems in Orbit Next Year
Elon Musk said SpaceX expects to deploy Nvidia artificial intelligence computing systems in orbit next year, according to a Monday post on X. Musk said he expects SpaceX to place Nvidia's Vera Rubin NVL72 platform in space during 2027; the system combines 72 Rubin graphics processing units with 36 Vera central processing units, along with networking and data-processing components. SpaceX Chief Financial Officer Bret Johnsen previously said the company relies on Nvidia chips for its planned orbital computing effort and indicated the partnership could help SpaceX secure the chip supply needed for the project. The initial satellites are targeted for launch in 2027, with additional deployments planned for 2028. SpaceX intends to modify the spacecraft platform used for newer Starlink satellites, replacing communications hardware with computing equipment and increasing solar-generation capacity.
Defense and space firms turn to SPACs as investor appetite surges
Early-stage defense and space companies are increasingly turning to SPAC mergers to go public this year, drawn by flexible capital and a faster route to market amid surging investor interest in the sector. Six defense, space or satellite-related companies have announced SPAC mergers so far this year, accounting for about 10% of all deals, up from three in all of 2025, according to SPACInsider data. U.S. defense firm Ursa Major, which develops propulsion systems for missiles and rockets, agreed to a $2.3-billion SPAC deal last month, and CEO Chris Spagnoletti told Reuters that customer demand was outpacing industry supply and the transaction would provide capital to close that gap. At least seven other defense and space companies have gone public through traditional IPOs so far in 2026, according to LSEG data, while nine SPACs are currently seeking defense or space targets with about $2.35 billion held in trust, SPACInsider CEO Kristi Marvin said. National security has taken center stage as the Trump administration seeks to strengthen U.S. defenses, with President Donald Trump proposing a sharp increase in 2027 U.S. defense spending to a national defense budget totaling about $1.5 trillion, up from the enacted budget of $901 billion in 2026.
Auria Signs Partnership and Contract with Mitsubishi Electric for Next-Generation SATCOM Software
Auria announced a partnership and contract with Mitsubishi Electric Corporation to deliver next-generation satellite communications capabilities using Auria's Kythera Operating System mission and resource management software. Under the deal, Auria will supply software to dynamically and autonomously manage, optimize, and orchestrate payload and network resources for Mitsubishi Electric's next-generation, software-defined SATCOM satellites, drawing on the Kythera Operating System, part of Auria's HeliOS product line, to enable autonomous service provisioning, real-time resource optimization, orchestration of space and ground assets, and adaptive mission operations. Auria will also provide its KOS Interference Manager module, a HeliOS capability that detects, geolocates, and mitigates signal interference. Auria CEO Damian DiPippa said the combination of Mitsubishi Electric's software-defined satellite hardware with Auria's resource management and mission optimization software will let Mitsubishi Electric customers leverage higher capacity and more flexible, resilient, responsive, and efficient SATCOM services, while Auria SVP Growth Andy Musliner said the partnership marries Mitsubishi Electric's advanced satellite systems with the intelligent software needed to manage and optimize them. Mitsubishi Electric, a pioneer in Japanese space technology since the 1960s, recorded consolidated revenue of 5,894.7 billion yen, or U.S.$ 36.8 billion, in the fiscal year ended March 31, 2026.
Morgan Stanley Reiterates Overweight on SpaceX With $300 Target as $100 Billion Starbase Plan Advances
Morgan Stanley analyst Adam Jonas reiterated an Overweight rating and a $300 price target on Space Exploration Technologies Corp. as the company pursues a planned $100 billion Starbase Louisiana complex. The proposed facility would house 10 launch pads across five launch complexes, part of infrastructure SpaceX is developing to support thousands of Starship launches annually. Starship is designed to offer more than four times the payload capacity of Falcon 9 while potentially cutting the cost of access to orbit by roughly 90 percent. The analyst's $300 target implies significant upside from the stock's $147 a share. The company faces substantial capital requirements for the $100 billion program, along with development, regulatory and demand risks tied to Starship. As of the end of the second quarter, 119 hedge funds held stakes in SpaceX, with VY Capital's position valued at $46.44 billion and BAMCO Inc. at $24.91 billion, while short interest stood at 184.39 million shares as of August 14, about 1.41 percent of the public float.
Musk Says SpaceX Will Build Exclusively on Nvidia Chips
Elon Musk said SpaceX has decided to build exclusively on Nvidia hardware, citing the Vera Rubin architecture as the best AI computer, during the company's second-quarter earnings call. The call was Space Exploration Technologies' first earnings call as a public company. SpaceX is using clusters of Nvidia GPUs to design orbital data centers, integrate with Starlink operations and Starship mission planning, and its near-term buzz centers on Starmind, an optimized satellite payload built on Nvidia's Vera Rubin NVL72 system. SpaceX has turned its Nvidia procurements into a fast-growing AI infrastructure business, leasing large clusters of Nvidia compute rather than using the chips solely to train its home-grown generative model, Grok. Anthropic entered a cloud services agreement with SpaceX worth $1.25 billion a month through 2029 for access to compute capacity across SpaceX's supercomputers Colossus and Colossus II, which feature roughly 325,000 Nvidia GPUs, while Google Cloud committed $920 million a month for access to roughly 110,000 Nvidia GPUs, CPUs, memory, and related networking kits through the middle of 2029, and Reflection AI signed a multiyear deal worth up to $6.3 billion to access Nvidia GB300 chips at a reported $150 million per month. Nvidia's data center revenue reached $89 billion in the second quarter, up 117% year over year, compared with AMD's $6.7 billion in data center sales, an increase of 107% year over year.
Frequency Electronics Posts Record $23.5 Million Quarterly Revenue
Frequency Electronics reported record revenue of $23.5 million for the first quarter of fiscal 2027, up 70% year-over-year and 52% sequentially, sending the stock more than 24% higher in after-hours trading. The company said the results raised its confidence in meeting or beating its previously stated target of at least $150 million in annual revenue by fiscal 2029, which ends April 30, 2029. Frequency Electronics also ended the quarter with a record funded backlog of $129 million, up 82% year-over-year and 16% sequentially. Gross margin expanded to approximately 46% and operating margin surpassed 22%, and the company said it expects to remain cash-generative on an annual basis. Management said internal research and development expenses are expected to remain below 10% of revenue, though production ramp-up remains a challenge and the company has seen limited traction with new defense technology companies, with most of its success coming from the space market.
Jim Cramer Names SpaceX His Fantasy Flex Pick as Q2 Revenue Jumps 90%
Jim Cramer picked Space Exploration Technologies Corp. as his fantasy flex player on the September 8 episode of Mad Money, citing the company's multi-faceted growth across rockets, Starlink and AI. SpaceX reported second-quarter total revenue of $7.8 billion, up over 90% year-over-year and beating Wall Street estimates by nearly $1 billion, with a Q2 GAAP EPS of -$0.09 that also outperformed estimates. The connectivity segment, supported by Starlink, reached 12 million subscribers, while enterprise and government demand pushed segment revenue higher, and the stock trades at roughly 50x to 68x forward sales estimates with a market capitalization hovering near $2 trillion. The company still reported a net loss of $541 million for the quarter, with quarterly capital expenditures running at nearly $18.4 billion to fund Starship manufacturing and orbital compute infrastructure alongside Connectivity and Space operations. Insider Monkey's database of over 1000 hedge funds shows 119 hedge funds held SpaceX during Q2, with VY Capital holding the most prominent position at 271.8 million shares, followed by BAMCO Inc. with nearly 145.8 million shares.
Raymond James Initiates Rocket Lab Coverage With Outperform, $80 Target
Raymond James initiated coverage of Rocket Lab USA with an Outperform rating and an $80 price target, implying roughly 29% upside, sending shares up more than 2% in premarket trading. Analyst Brian Gesuale sees Rocket Lab evolving beyond its small-launch roots into a vertically integrated space company spanning launch, spacecraft, components, payloads and optical communications, with the planned medium-lift Neutron rocket expected to expand those capabilities in 2027. The call comes as Rocket Lab completed its 16th Electron mission of 2026 on Sept. 11, deploying an Earth-observation satellite into low Earth orbit for a confidential customer, marking its 95th launch overall, with another commercial Electron mission planned before the end of September. Gesuale projects positive EBITDA and free cash flow around 2027 to 2028 as investment requirements decline, and noted that Rocket Lab's $155.3 million Mynaric acquisition expands its laser-communications capabilities, though he flagged integration as a risk. Neutron remains the most important catalyst, and delays, acquisition problems or continued heavy cash consumption would make the $80 target harder to reach.
Rocket Lab and AST SpaceMobile both reported second-quarter 2026 results on August 10, 2026, with Rocket Lab posting $234.07 million in revenue, up 62.0% year over year, while AST SpaceMobile's revenue of $31.52 million missed consensus by 8.36%. Rocket Lab's backlog swelled to $2.36 billion, up 137%, with Space Systems contributing $189.5 million after the Mynaric and Motiv deals closed, and CEO Peter Beck called it another fantastic quarter. AST SpaceMobile's GAAP loss ballooned to -$0.77 per share after a $125.9 million charge tied to the BB7 launch incident, though its constellation now holds 13 spacecraft with roughly 20,000 square feet of aperture, and CEO Abel Avellan said the company is preparing to initiate beta services with select strategic partners. Rocket Lab's announced Iridium acquisition adds 66 satellites, 2.5 million subscribers, and more than $870 million in annual revenue, while its Neutron rocket, priced at a $50 to $55 million ASP, is targeting a Q4 2026 pad delivery, with Beck admitting the window for an end-of-year launch is narrowing. AST SpaceMobile has 60-plus MNO partners covering 3 billion subscribers, a preliminary $1 billion J-LEO award with Rakuten in Japan, and Block 2 satellites aimed at roughly 200 Mbps peak data rates, with Q2 capex hitting roughly $610 million. Both stocks have cooled, with RKLB down 22.56% over the past month and ASTS off 16.36%.
Eutelsat and OroraTech Partner to Deploy Up to 96 Thermal Payloads
Eutelsat and OroraTech have announced a strategic partnership to deploy OroraTech thermal infrared payloads on Eutelsat's future Low Earth Orbit satellites, with a reservation for 48 payloads and an option for an additional 48, potentially reaching up to 96 sensors. The agreement, unveiled at the International Space Summit in Paris on September 9, 2026, aims to create a sovereign European thermal intelligence layer for persistent, low-latency Earth monitoring. OroraTech CEO Martin Langer emphasized the move from satellites to infrastructure, while Eutelsat CEO Jean-François Fallacher highlighted the role in early wildfire detection, citing recent severe fires in Europe. For OroraTech, the deal offers scale, capital-efficient growth through hosted payloads, and resilience via diversification across European platforms. The partnership underscores French-German cooperation in space, combining Eutelsat's large-scale LEO infrastructure with OroraTech's thermal intelligence technology.
Rocket Lab unveils lighter, germanium-free solar cell
Rocket Lab announced the production release of its Inverted Metamorphic (IMM) Apex solar cell, a next-generation product for space applications that achieves 31.5% solar conversion efficiency, weighs 40% less, and eliminates the need for germanium substrates, a material used in conventional multi-junction solar cells for three decades. Company President Brad Clevenger said the cell addresses rising material costs and supply chain constraints while offering faster production times and proven reliability. Shares rose 5% in premarket trading following the announcement.
Teledyne Technologies Raises Guidance as Defense and Industrial Demand Accelerate
Teledyne Technologies Incorporated (NYSE:TDY) raised its full-year guidance after reporting better-than-expected results, driven by accelerating organic growth, continued strength in defense, and improving demand across short-cycle industrial markets. The company highlighted strong bookings and momentum in unmanned systems, space sensing, and infrared technologies. Artisan Mid Cap Fund, which holds the stock, added to its position during the quarter following a pullback. Teledyne closed at $610.65 per share on September 4, 2026, with a market capitalization of $28.31 billion. The stock has declined 11.53% over the past month but gained 11.78% over the past 52 weeks.
Google-Backed Pixxel Raises $100 Million in India's Biggest Space-Tech Round
Google-backed space startup Pixxel has raised $100 million in India's largest space-tech funding round to date, as the country's private space industry attracts larger capital pools. The Series C round was led by Temasek and Seraphim Space, with participation from existing and new investors, bringing Pixxel's total funding to $195 million. The company, which began with hyperspectral satellites, has expanded into Earth-intelligence software via its Aurora platform, satellite manufacturing, and systems for commercial and government customers. The new funds will support the expansion of its Honeybee satellite constellation, add higher-resolution imaging, and increase manufacturing capacity in India and the U.S. Pixxel already operates six Firefly satellites in orbit and has secured work with NASA and the U.S. National Reconnaissance Office, with the first Honeybee satellite expected to launch in 2027.
Musk Moves Up SpaceX Orbital Data Center Launch to Q4 2027
Elon Musk has accelerated the timeline for SpaceX's orbital data center, now targeting the first AI satellite launches for the fourth quarter of 2027, with significant scale expected in 2028. The satellites, powered exclusively by Nvidia chips, will use a space-optimized Vera Rubin NVL72 system, which Musk described as simpler, lower cost, denser, and lighter than traditional racks. This marks the second time the timeline has been moved up, following the May IPO prospectus that targeted "as early as 2028" and Musk's August comments suggesting launches would begin next year. SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell has confirmed deals with Anthropic and Google to rent orbital compute capacity, and JPMorgan analyst Doug Anmuth projects SpaceX could pursue roughly 75 gigawatts of orbital compute by 2031. However, skeptics point to Musk's history of missed deadlines and undisclosed unit economics, while the plan depends on new satellite architecture, regulatory clearance for up to 1 million satellites, and substantial upfront costs.
German startup Isar Aerospace successfully launched its Spectrum rocket into orbit from Norway's Andøya Spaceport, marking the first commercially developed rocket to achieve orbit from continental Europe. The uncrewed mission carried five small satellites and a technology experiment, serving as both a qualification flight and its first customer payload mission. This achievement strengthens Europe's emerging commercial launch industry amid rising demand for satellite deployment, potentially benefiting the broader space supply chain and increasing competition for established operators like SpaceX and ArianeGroup. The flight came 18 months after Isar's first launch attempt ended in an explosion, and the company now has five additional rockets in production, aiming for about 40 launches annually. Isar recently secured approximately €200 million, or $232 million, from the European Space Agency to support development and infrastructure expansion.
Canaccord Reiterates Buy on Intuitive Machines with $39 Target
Canaccord Genuity analyst Austin Moeller reiterated a Buy rating on Intuitive Machines (NASDAQ:LUNR) on August 18, cutting the price target from $41 to $39, implying nearly 165% upside from the September 1 close. The reiteration follows the company's second-quarter results on August 13, where management reaffirmed full-year 2026 guidance of $900 million to $1 billion in revenue and positive adjusted EBITDA. Intuitive Machines posted record quarterly revenue of $206.17 million, up 310% year-over-year, and ended the quarter with a $1.8 billion order backlog, a substantial jump from $213.1 million at the end of December, with $612.8 million of that backlog tied to the Lanteris acquisition. The company also received authorization to proceed on a $600 million multi-satellite communications infrastructure program, leveraging its IM 1300 platform. However, risks include backlog conversion timing, customer concentration in national security programs, and execution risks on large-scale satellite projects.
SpaceX Fair Value Rises to $222 as Analysts Debate AI and Starlink
SpaceX's fair value estimate has risen modestly from about US$213.50 to about US$222.32, reflecting a small reset in analysts' central case even as Street price targets range widely from US$75 to US$800. The adjustment comes amid bullish takes from Oppenheimer, UBS, Goldman Sachs, and Macquarie, which highlight SpaceX as a vertically integrated AI and space platform, while bearish firms like CFRA and HSBC flag valuation risks and execution challenges. Recent developments include a US$100 billion Starbase Louisiana spaceport project with construction targeted for 2027, the closing of a US$60 billion all-stock acquisition of AI coding startup Cursor, and an AI-focused partnership with Nvidia to build an orbital data center network. The revenue growth assumption in the model has shifted from about 117.91% to about 115.09%, profit margin from about 29.56% to about 30.03%, and the future P/E multiple from about 60.32x to about 64.30x, while the discount rate remains effectively unchanged at about 7.24%.
US and China Race to Develop Space Weapons, Risk of Conflict Spreading to Orbit
The United States and China are rapidly developing military capabilities in space, ranging from satellites that can track, approach, or capture other spacecraft, to systems that jam and destroy satellites, amid the risk that future conflicts could extend into Earth's orbit. In June, China's mysterious uncrewed spacecraft released a small satellite that maneuvered around another Chinese satellite before returning close to the original vehicle. The US also operates a secretive uncrewed spaceplane similar to the space shuttle. Patent documents and research reviewed by Reuters show that Chinese researchers linked to the military are developing hunter-killer satellite technology, including on-orbit refueling that could extend the lifespan and enhance the ability to chase targets. Meanwhile, the US and UK conducted their first joint military space operation in September last year, with China's Shiyan 12-01 satellite passing below at a distance of about 83 kilometers. General Stephen Whiting, commander of US Space Command, has called for a shift to a more proactive posture in space warfare, while China denies such intentions and accuses Washington of fueling an arms race in space through President Donald Trump's Golden Dome project.
Berenberg Initiates Coverage on Space Sector, Buys 4 Stocks
Berenberg has launched coverage of the U.S. and European space sector, initiating Rocket Lab, AST SpaceMobile, Planet Labs, and HawkEye 360 at Buy, and Avio SpA at Hold, joining its existing Buy on OHB SE. Analyst Michael Filatov noted that falling launch costs have pushed the space economy past $500 billion in 2025, on track to exceed $1 trillion by 2030, favoring vertically integrated launch and sovereign constellation capabilities. Rocket Lab received an $83 price target as the only end-to-end public pure-play in space, while AST SpaceMobile got the highest target at $92 for its demonstrated cellular broadband from space to unmodified smartphones. Planet Labs was initiated with a $25 target, citing accelerating revenue growth and a backlog up 72% year-over-year to roughly $906 million, and HawkEye 360 received a $24 target for its radio-frequency intelligence and 33% organic growth in Q2. Avio SpA was the lone Hold with a €33 target, as near-term earnings are constrained by capital spending on its Virginia plant. Filatov highlighted defence and sovereignty spending as the most de-risked demand driver, with global defence space spending at $74 billion in 2025 and the U.S. Space Force's fiscal 2027 budget request more than doubling, while SpaceX delivered 80% of all mass to orbit year-to-date.
Teledyne Surpasses 1,000 Space Sensors with Roman Launch
Teledyne Space Imaging celebrated a major milestone after NASA's Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope launched on August 30 aboard a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket, bringing the company's total scientific imaging sensors in space to more than 1,000. Teledyne supplied detector technologies for both of Roman's primary instruments, including 18 H4RG-10 infrared detectors for the Wide Field Instrument, forming the largest infrared focal plane ever flown, and three CCD311-20 detectors for the Coronagraph Instrument. The company was awarded a $23 million contract in 2018 to provide 24 sensor chip assemblies, later expanded to 28, with each detector exceeding performance specs and enabling a 20 percent increase in spectral bandwidth. Roman, NASA's flagship astrophysics observatory, will investigate dark energy, exoplanets, and the evolution of the Universe, building on Teledyne's legacy with Hubble and James Webb.
NASA's Roman Space Telescope Launches with BAE Systems Instruments
BAE Systems is celebrating the successful launch of NASA's Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope from Kennedy Space Center in Florida, which will support critical astrophysics discoveries as the latest flagship observatory. BAE Systems designed and developed the Opto-Mechanical Assembly on the Wide Field Instrument, the primary scientific instrument on the Roman mission, providing the stable structure and thermal environment that enables the instrument to meet performance requirements. The Roman Space Telescope's Wide Field Instrument will provide a field of view at least 100 times greater than the Hubble Space Telescope, allowing scientists to survey the sky up to 1,000 times faster. BAE Systems has provided significant support for every NASA astrophysics flagship mission, from Hubble to the James Webb Space Telescope, and is already contributing to NASA's next flagship mission concept, the Habitable Worlds Observatory, which would focus on imaging Earth-like planets and searching for signs of life.
L3Harris Celebrates Successful Launch of NASA's Roman Space Telescope
L3Harris Technologies has contributed key elements to NASA's successfully launched Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope, an observatory designed to map the universe. The company provided the 2.4-meter Optical Telescope Assembly, which serves as the telescope's eye, along with radiation-hardened electronics to keep it operational about 1 million miles from Earth. Jeff Hanke, President of Space Systems at L3Harris, said the optical eye will survey the cosmos 1,000 times faster than the Hubble Space Telescope and is expected to unveil billions of galaxies, hundreds of millions of stars, and more than 100,000 distant worlds. The telescope will scan roughly 12% of the entire sky in under 18 months to measure the universe's expansion and study supernovae from up to 8 billion years ago. This milestone continues L3Harris' tradition of enabling space exploration, following its work on the James Webb Space Telescope, Mars rovers, GPS satellites, and International Space Station systems.