SpaceX is warming up its engines for the launch of Starship and the IPO.
Elon Musk’s aerospace company aims for the commercial debut of Starship, the most powerful rocket in the world, developed by SpaceX for trips to the Moon and – one day – the red planet, by mid-2027, with the goal of launching a new generation of Starlink satellites and strengthening its positioning ahead of a possible stock market listing. Additionally, SpaceX plans to test the launch of a new version of the next-generation rocket this month, which includes hundreds of upgrades, after a pause of over four months since the last flight test.
The company is thus accelerating its program for its next-generation launcher, considered central to Elon Musk’s lunar and Martian ambitions.
Meanwhile, according to a report by Bloomberg, SpaceX aims to file a confidential registration for an initial public offering (IPO) that could value the company at over $1.75 trillion. And according to a PitchBook analyst, this valuation would be “justifiable.”
The filing could happen as early as March, according to Bloomberg, in what would rank among the largest IPOs in history. It would indeed be the largest IPO ever, surpassing Saudi Aramco’s 2019 listing, which raised $29 billion.
All the details.
TIMELINES AND UPCOMING TESTS FOR STARSHIP
Speaking at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, SpaceX executives provided the most defined timeline so far for Starship’s entry into service. Michael Nicolls, senior vice president of Starlink at SpaceX, stated that Starship will be ready in time to launch a new enhanced constellation of mobile Starlink satellites by “mid-2027.”
A Starship test flight is expected within the next “four to six weeks,” SpaceX president Gwynne Shotwell told the Financial Times on the sidelines of the event. Musk had previously hinted in a social media post in January that the 12th Starship test flight would occur by early March.
In October, the company successfully completed the eleventh Starship test from its Texas base: the rocket flew for over an hour before splashing down in the Indian Ocean. The new launcher is expected to provide significant improvements in cost and capacity compared to the current Falcon launchers.
A KEY MILESTONE FOR THE LISTING
The next launch will be closely watched by potential investors ahead of a possible initial public offering by the end of the year. The IPO could represent the largest stock market debut ever, with an estimated valuation of up to $1.75 trillion.
The IPO value could be reached if investors adopt a three-to-five-year investment horizon and tolerate what Franco Granda, senior analyst at PitchBook, called “volatility amplified by Musk,” reports Bloomberg. The prospect of raising up to $50 billion from the listing would provide the company with a capital reserve to finance the expansion of its Starship rocket, the expansion of the Starlink satellite constellation, and the development of its direct-to-cell offering.
At the same time, the success of the Starship program is considered crucial for the company’s presentation on Wall Street. The vehicle’s full reusability and increased payload capacity, up to 250 tons, are central elements in Musk’s company growth strategy.
SPACEX’S NUMBERS
As reported last month by Reuters, the Starbase, Texas-based company generated about $8 billion in profits on revenues between $15 and $16 billion last year, mainly driven by its Starlink satellite internet service, which accounts for between 50% and 80% of total revenue.
EXPANSION OF THE STARLINK CONSTELLATION
Starship’s entry into service will significantly increase the number of satellites launched per mission and accelerate the expansion of the Starlink network, already used by millions of customers worldwide. “We will be able to launch more than 50 satellites per launch [using Starship] and will start launches in mid-2027,” Nicolls explained. “With this, Starship will be able to deploy the constellation very quickly.”
Nicolls explained that the company aims to put 1,200 satellites into orbit within six months following the first operational launch, creating a new constellation with improved network capabilities. Last month, Starlink Mobile surpassed 10 million monthly users, and the stated goal is to reach 25 million by the end of the year.
The service collaborates with operators such as T-Mobile US and Virgin Media O2 to provide mobile coverage in areas not reached by terrestrial networks. “Overall, the system could even replace the need to deploy terrestrial networks in certain locations,” Nicolls said.
MOON GOAL, BUT ALSO MARS
Finally, SpaceX’s plans align with Musk’s revised objectives. In early February, the aerospace company decided to prioritize building a “self-sustaining city” on the Moon, considered by Elon Musk a faster goal than the red planet. According to a report by the Wall Street Journal, SpaceX told investors it will prioritize the Moon and attempt a Mars trip (initially planned this year) later. Musk wrote that the company remains committed to building a city on Mars and will start doing so in about five to seven years, but has now shifted priorities to building “a self-sustaining city on our satellite.” These statements come on the eve of NASA’s Artemis 2 mission, initially scheduled for this month and postponed to April.
Starship also plays a central role in space exploration programs, aiming to secure new contracts from NASA and transport humans to the Moon and, subsequently, to Mars. When asked which priority was higher between the two goals, Shotwell told the FT that both are fundamental to the company’s mission.
“Elon has talked a lot about the Moon lately, but Mars is his passion,” assured SpaceX’s president. “Let’s call them co-priorities.”
