SpaceX Stock Extends Rally: What's Going On Today?

Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (NASDAQ:SPCX) shares are trading higher Thursday, extending Wednesday’s rally as SpaceX follows through on a busy launch schedule ahead of next week’s high-profile Starship flight. SpaceX stock is gaining positive traction. Why are SPCX shares climbing? SpaceX Successfully Launches USSF-259 Mission SpaceX successfully launched its USSF-259 mission Wednesday aboard a Falcon 9 rocket from Space Launch Complex 4E in California, with the booster landing on a droneship after liftoff. SpaceX posted video of the launch on X while it took place. That successful liftoff is just the start of a busy stretch for the company. SpaceX has several more missions lined up in the coming days. A Starlink mission is set to launch on a Falcon 9 from the same California pad, with a window running from 9:47 p.m. ET Saturday, Sept. 19, through 1:47 a.m. ET Sunday, Sept. 20, again targeting a droneship landing. The next major milestone comes Sept. 22, when Starship’s 14th flight is set to launch from Pad 2 at Starbase, with a window running from 8:15 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. ET. The mission will attempt Starship’s first orbital flight, deploy the company’s first Starlink V3 satellites, and test a range of hardware and heatshield upgrades following issues on the previous flight. The booster is expected to be expended rather than recovered on this attempt. SpaceX also has a USSF-385 mission planned for Sept. 26, launching on a Falcon 9 from California with a window between 7:56 a.m. and 10:56 a.m. ET, once again targeting a droneship landing. Wednesday’s Rally Built On Starship Hype and Broader Space Spending Beyond this week’s launch calendar, Wednesday’s rally traced back to a mix of anticipation around the upcoming Starship flight and bigger-picture optimism about where SpaceX’s business could head. Cathie Wood put a number on that optimism, suggesting a single Starship mission might eventually be worth close to $1 billion, a figure that balloons into the trillions on an annual basis if Musk’s target of flying the vehicle 10,000 times a year by 2030 actually pans out. Adding to that backdrop, Air Force Secretary Troy Meink publicly acknowledged for the first time that Space Force has weapons already positioned in orbit, part of a wider expansion into satellite networks and autonomous defense technology. Even though his comments weren’t specific to SpaceX, that kind of expanding government appetite for space-based capability tends to work in favor of companies positioned to build the infrastructure behind it. SPCX Shares Are Moving Higher SPCX Price Action: SpaceX shares were up 2.14% at $154.11 at the time of publication on Thursday, according to Benzinga Pro. Read Also: SpaceX-Tesla Merger: Ron Baron Told Elon Musk 'Whatever You Decide… Is What I'm Going to Support' Image: Shutterstock