Space stocks are rocketing as SpaceX keeps making pre-IPO headlines with first Starship launch

By William Gavin

SpaceX, which is planning to go public soon, recently tested the latest version of its massive 407-foot rocket for the first time

SpaceX on May 22 launched its third-generation Starship and Super Heavy booster for the first time.

Space-sector stocks are climbing on Tuesday as investors cheer on SpaceX's plans to go public and the rocket company's recent Starship rocket launch.

Last week, the Elon Musk-led company officially filed its initial public offering paperwork, likely setting up a listing in June. SpaceX reportedly plans to raise up to $80 billion at a market valuation of as much as $2 trillion.

If successful, SpaceX's listing would easily become the largest in history and help the rocket and satellite company work toward a slew of ambitious goals.

Among the company's plans is to drive down vehicle-launch costs through the use of its Starship, a massive reusable rocket that SpaceX expects to be capable of carrying a more than 100-metric-ton payload to orbit. The company has spent more than $15 billion developing Starship, which had a partially successful launch late last Friday.

The test was the first of the latest iteration of the 407-foot-tall rocket, which is made up of the Starship and Super Heavy V3 vehicles. Although the rocket was able to deploy two modified Starlink satellites and 20 simulators, one of the Super Heavy booster's engines shut down during the ascent and one of the Starship spacecraft's engines failed to ignite. The vehicle completed the test by splashing down in the Indian Ocean.

See more: SpaceX has a lot riding on its imminent Starship rocket launch

Primarily, Starship is expected to serve SpaceX, allowing the company to send satellites, including more advanced models, to orbit more quickly. But it's also expected to be used for at least some third-party launches.

A few companies have already signed deals with SpaceX to use Starship for future launches, including lunar-rover developer Astrolab. Voyager Technologies (VOYG) recently disclosed that it had agreed to pay $90 million for a Starship launch.

Voyager CEO Dylan Taylor recently told MarketWatch that he expects SpaceX's IPO to be "super positive" for the broader space industry. It'll get "a lot more eyeballs" on the industry, which he said would be a good thing and help separate "PowerPoint companies" from companies developing actual products.

As space stocks rallied on Tuesday, Redwire (RDW) and Momentus (MNTS) led the pack, with gains of 26% and 75%, respectively, in recent morning trading. Momentus has rallied 162% over the last three months.

Shares of Voyager, Intuitive Machines (LUNR), Satellogic (SATL) and Viasat (VSAT) rose by about 10% in intraday action, while several other stocks in the sector also showed gains. SpaceX rivals AST SpaceMobile's stock (ASTS) shot up 18%, while shares of Rocket Lab (RKLB) surged 5%.

Eric Balchunas, a senior ETF analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence, noted on Tuesday that the ERShares Private-Public Crossover XOVR, Tema Space Innovators NASA and Baron First Principles RONB ETFs have attracted major attention from investors over the last several days. Each offers pre-IPO exposure to SpaceX.

The "RONB" exchange-traded fund, which was launched by major SpaceX investor Ron Baron late last year, has tripled assets under management over the past two weeks, Balchunas noted. The "NASA" ETF last week surpassed $1 billion in AUM after 37 trading days, which made it one of the fastest active equity ETFs to reach that milestone, according to Tema ETFs. "In short, SpaceX is giving otherwise small/new ETFs superpowers," Balchunas wrote on X.

The industrywide enthusiasm appears to have stretched to companies that are not yet public. The first quarter of 2026 set a new record for global space-technology investment, according to investment firm Seraphim Space.

Applied Aerospace and Defense, which makes systems for space and defense purposes, said Tuesday that it would seek to raise as much as $682.5 million in its IPO. Renaissance Capital, which specializes in IPO research, had earlier estimated the company could raise $350 million.

See more: Elon Musk's xAI is draining SpaceX's cash, with little to show for it

-William Gavin

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