SpaceX Starship test number 14 could be days away.
Everything SpaceX does feels big. Starship, SpaceX’s fully reusable rocket, is the largest ever built by humans, standing about 400 feet tall. Its development is one of the most important things SpaceX investors can monitor.
SpaceX recently filed paperwork with the Federal Communications Commission related to Starship test 14. The application referenced an “orbital second stage,” giving an indication that SpaceX plans its first orbital insertion for Starship’s upper stage. The “operation start date” was listed as Sept. 15.
SpaceX didn’t respond to a request for comment about the filing.
Starship test 13 launched in late July. There were many successes, including the deployment of 20 Starlink version three satellites. Starlink is SpaceX’s space-based broadband product with more than 12 million subscribers.
Starship is needed to launch the more capable V3 Starlink satellites. It is also needed to launch SpaceX’s Starmind AI satellites. SpaceX plans to put AI data centers in space, using Starship’s low launch costs and the power of the sun to gain an advantage over terrestrial data centers.
Starship is the technology that enables growth in the company’s communications and AI businesses, so its development is critical for the stock.
SpaceX stock jumped 6.4% to $149.74 on Thursday, while the S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 1.1% and 1.2%, Shares finished with a market capitalization north of $2 trillion for the first time since early July, according to Dow Jones Market Data.
A price target hike from Oppenheimer might be helping, too. Analyst Timothy Horan raised his SpaceX target to $280 from $250, saying AI revenue is accelerating faster than expected.
SpaceX generated $2.6 billion in second-quarter AI revenue. Wall Street was looking for $2.2 billion, according to FactSet. More importantly, estimates for 2027 AI revenue are at $65 billion, up from $38 billion before the second-quarter results were released. Horan rates shares as Buy.
Investors and space enthusiasts will be watching test number 14, whenever it happens, hoping for a good outcome. SpaceX aims to carry commercial payloads on Starships as soon as the end of this year.
Down the road, SpaceX plans thousands of Starship flights a year. That scale is unprecedented in human history. SpaceX already handles more than half of the globe’s orbital launch needs, sending about 160 Falcon 9 rockets into orbit each year.
The growth goals are incredible. SpaceX always goes big.
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