SpaceX Stock Slips as Starship Test Slips a Week, Even With a Fresh $946 Million NASA Order

SpaceX closed at EUR 132.70, down 1.6%, as a Starship delay and retail selling offset a $946 million NASA crewed-mission award.

SpaceX shares finished Friday at EUR 132.70, down 1.6% on the day, as a short delay to the next Starship test flight and a wave of retail selling overshadowed a new government contract win.

The US space agency awarded the company a further $946 million on Friday for three additional crewed missions to the International Space Station, extending that line of work through 2030. The add-on lifts the total value of the expanded crewed-flight arrangement to $5.92 billion, giving SpaceX a durable revenue anchor in government transport while it readies newer commercial programs.

Starship's Orbital Debut Pushed Back

Attention remains fixed on the heavy-lift rocket's next development step. The upcoming test flight was moved by roughly a week to September 28. On that first orbital attempt, the vehicle is set to target an altitude of about 275 kilometers, carrying 26 next-generation communications satellites for the company's own network. A clean run is seen as pivotal for future launch cadence and for the economics of the entire launch system.

The brief postponement landed on a market that was already cautious. After the strong run of recent weeks, plenty of participants seized the moment to lock in gains.

JPMorgan data showed private investors offloading roughly $570 million of SpaceX stock over the past three weeks, with $250 million of that coming in the just-ended trading week — the largest weekly retreat measured for that investor group to date.

Boardroom Share Transfer Adds to the Caution

Ownership structure also shifted. Valor Equity Partners transferred 8.5% of its company stake to fund investors, a move Bloomberg valued at about $8.5 billion. Board member Antonio Gracias, despite the transfer, remains one of the largest shareholders with a holding of more than 460 million shares.

Such reshuffling by early venture backers is a normal step after successful listings, yet in the current climate it fed additional restraint among traders.

Diversification Beyond the Rocket Business

While launch operations dominate the headlines, SpaceX is widening its revenue base. On Tuesday the group signed a mission contract with European integrator Space Cargo for the orbital return service Starfall, making Space Cargo the first European customer for a service designed to bring cargo back from orbit to Earth.

Fresh momentum is also coming from the security and IT side. Britain's Ministry of Defence disclosed spending of just under $40 million on the company's satellite services, including Starlink and the Starshield security network. According to Reuters, the UK is the first country outside the US to publicly confirm use of Starshield.

Data processing is emerging as another income stream. CFO Bret Johnsen said at a Goldman Sachs conference that a hosting contract for AI computing capacity has been signed, set to generate roughly $1.11 billion in monthly recurring revenue from December 1, 2026 — about $13 billion on an annualized basis.

Fundamentals Still Point Upward

On the operating side, the NASA award strengthens SpaceX's standing in the state spaceflight sector, at a time when rival capsule programs continue to face delays. Broader revenue growth remains intact: second-quarter sales climbed almost 92% to $7.81 billion. Against that backdrop, major investor Ron Baron of Baron Capital reiterated his confident view on the further expansion of the satellite business.

Over the past 30 days, the stock has gained 11%.