SpaceX Is Under a Lot of Pressure Now. It’s Not Alone
SpaceX will seek to maintain its dominance.
Photographer: Gabriel V. Cardenas/AFP/Getty Images
SpaceX’s dominance of rocket launches and satellite broadband internet service was reaffirmed last month with news of an insider share sale that would value the company at $800 billion. There was even speculation that Elon Musk’s space venture might sell shares to the public this year with a target valuation of almost double that amount.
This increased investor enthusiasm comes when SpaceX is under intense pressure to perform this year. Musk’s company will launch for the first time its latest, third version of Starship, its huge and completely reusable rocket. Even more important, SpaceX needs to pull off a test to refuel Starship in space. This is indispensable for meeting NASA’s goal of taking astronauts and materiel to the moon’s surface.