SpaceX launches massive Starship rocket in first test flight since IPO
📰 source: cnbc_topnews · 💼 business
spacex launched its starship rocket friday evening from starbase, texas — its 13th test flight and first since the company's record ipo last month. the super heavy booster detached about two minutes in and made a controlled splashdown in the gulf, though only a subset of engines reignited for the landing burn, according to spacex. the upper stage made a soft splashdown in the indian ocean, coming to rest intact with a visible heatshield.
during the flight, spacex deployed 20 new starlink v3 satellites into orbit, the first test of these larger, more powerful satellites. the company is developing starship for cargo, nasa lunar missions, and eventual mars flights. spacex's stock has dropped 43% from its peak close on june 16, declining in four of the past five weeks. critics say spacex still has a long way to go before achieving rapid reusability.
why it matters: first starship test flight after spacex's ipo shows progress and risks in rocket development, affecting investor sentiment and starlink expansion.
source: cnbc_topnews
sentiment: +0.20 · impact: 0.50