All the joys (and some pains) for SpaceX
SpaceX approaches $150 billion valuation after secondary stock sale, CNBC reported last week. According to The Information, SpaceX's revenue is expected to double to $8 billion. But all is not rosy for Elon Musk's aerospace company
SpaceX surpasses aerospace giants Boeing and Raytheon in valuation.
Last week, CNBC reported that the valuation of SpaceX, Elon Musk's aerospace company, had risen to nearly $150 billion following the announcement of a stock sale by existing investors.
But it doesn't end there. According toThe Information , which cites people familiar with the matter, SpaceX is expected to see a significant increase in sales: forecasts indicate it will double revenue to about $8 billion in 2023.
Founded in Hawthorne, California in 2002, SpaceX has carved out a near-monopoly in the global rocket launch market. Its Falcon 9 rocket takes to the skies nearly every week from Florida, carrying humans to the International Space Station and carrying Starlink satellites into orbit.
But in the meantime the company continues to spend heavily on the development of its Starship rocket, the largest space transportation system ever designed. In late April, Musk said he expects the company to spend another $2 billion on the Starship program, to attempt five launches by the end of the year. Its launch schedule is on hold, however, after Starship failed to reach orbit in its first integrated flight test on April 20. Soon after launch, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the agency that regulates civil aviation in the United States, grounded the Starship program as it conducted an investigation into the flight. While Musk aims for a new flight in the coming weeks, he has to wait for FAA clearance.
All the details.
VALUATION AT $150 BILLION, SURPASSING BOEING AND RAYTHEON
SpaceX's valuation of Elon Musk has reached nearly $150 billion, ranking it the most valuable aerospace company in the United States. Boeing's market cap was just over $128 billion on Monday morning, while Raytheon's was nearing $141 billion.
According to a copy of the offer sent by Chief Financial Officer Bret Johnsen, obtained by CNBC , the company has entered into an agreement with new and existing investors to sell up to $750 million in shares at a price of $81 per share.
This represents a 5% increase over the previous secondary sale at $77 per share, which valued the company at approximately $140 billion. SpaceX did not provide any comments regarding the takeover offer.
The company, which does not currently have plans for an initial public offering (IPO), typically conducts cycles of secondary stock sales for employees and shareholders every two years. SpaceX continues to rank as one of the world's most valuable private companies, classifying it as a "centicorn" or "hectocorn" — a $1 billion unicorn, 100x.
THE FLEET OF STARLINK SATELLITES IS EXPANDING (AND THE RISK OF COLLISION IN ORBIT IS GROWING)
Last month, SpaceX landed an orbital rocket for the 200th time and has launched 47 times so far this year, bringing the company to a dizzying average of one launch every four days, CNBC adds.
On July 16, the company concluded an important phase of the Starlink project, the Internet service via satellite, bringing into orbit the last 54 satellites in version 1.5. SpaceX has launched nearly 5,000 of its Starlink Internet satellites to date. The service has grown to over 1.5 million subscribers in less than three years since its debut. SpaceX has also predicted that "Starlink will make money" in 2023, having achieved positive cash flow last year. Last month it won a contract from the Pentagon to provide Starlink service in Ukraine, for an undisclosed amount.
Low-Earth orbit is becoming increasingly crowded and Starlink satellites are carrying out thousands of anti-collision maneuvers, fueling concerns that a crash is inevitable.
In the last six months, between 1 December 2022 and 21 May 2023, the satellites of the Starlink constellation have carried out over 25 thousand anti-collision maneuvers, to avoid possible collisions with other satellites or space debris in orbit around the Earth. This is what emerged from a report presented by the company to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), the Federal Communications Commission of the United States. An exponential increase destined to grow further, which generates much concern: according to some experts, collisions could soon become a normal part of the space business, generating more and more debris.
MONEY AND HOPE ON STARSHIP
Finally, the company is still eager to see its Starship mega rocket reach orbit in 2023.
Musk expects the company to spend about $2 billion on vehicle development this year. The first flight of the spaceship went off the launch pad and achieved several milestones, but also had several problems. SpaceX is preparing to attempt a second launch in the coming months but awaits Federal Aviation Administration approval to do so. The FAA is also facing a lawsuit brought by a coalition of environmental groups over the launch permits granted to SpaceX for the flight of Starship from space base in Boca Chica, Texas. The FAA and SpaceX have denied most of the allegations in court.
FEARS OF NASA
NASA fears that problems with Starship, SpaceX's spacecraft destined for future trips to Mars, will delay Artemis 3, the third mission of the Artemis program that will send the first humans to explore the region near the lunar South Pole.
The U.S. space agency has expressed concern that the lunar lander version of SpaceX's Starship vehicle will not be ready in time for the Artemis 3 mission currently scheduled for late 2025, given the amount of work needed to prepare the vehicle, SpaceNews reports.
In 2021, the US space agency has selected SpaceX for its Human Landing System (HLS) program to develop versions of Starship capable of landing astronauts on the moon with the Artemis III mission, the first manned moon landing since 1972.
Speaking at a joint meeting of the Aeronautics and Space Engineering Board and the Space Studies Board of the National Academies on June 7, Jim Free, NASA associate administrator for the Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate, said Artemis 3 was in danger of being delayed from December 2025 to 2026.
This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/innovazione/tutte-le-gioie-e-qualche-doloretto-per-spacex/ on Sun, 23 Jul 2023 14:10:33 +0000.