SpaceX Delays Starship Flight 13 After Raptor 3 Engine Abort, SPCX Stock Slides

SpaceX has rescheduled the 13th test flight of its Starship rocket to Thursday, July 23. A Raptor 3 engine ignition failure forced an automatic abort of the earlier attempt.

The setback triggered a fresh slide in SpaceX (SPCX) stock. The rocket will carry 20 V3 Starlink satellites for the first time.

SpaceX Delays Starship Flight 13 to Thursday

SpaceX confirmed the new launch window in a post on X on Monday.

SpaceX had aimed to fly earlier in the week, but several Raptor 3 engines failed to ignite during the countdown. The company has not detailed a root cause. The flight marks the second outing for the newer Starship V3 design. It will lift off from Starbase, Texas.

Starship will also deploy 20 functional V3 Starlink satellites for the first time. SpaceX needs a clean satellite deployment before the rocket can carry heavier commercial payloads.

SPCX Stock Slides Toward Its All-Time Low

SpaceX shares changed hands near $124 on Monday. That marked a drop of more than 5% in a day. The stock now sits close to its 52-week low of $122.12. It sits roughly 23% below its $135 IPO price.

The setback compounds a rough stretch for SpaceX investors. Shares fell below IPO price earlier this month. Short interest climbed sharply during an earlier stock crash, reportedly reaching 185 million shares, or 29% of the tradable float.

Crypto traders can react to the news outside normal market hours. Platforms built on the xStocks framework offer tokenized SpaceX shares backed one to one by SPCX. Other venues list leveraged tokens that amplify each move in either direction.

What’s Next for SpaceX Investors

A clean flight Thursday could help SPCX claw back some losses. Evercore ISI still rates the stock Outperform with a $230 target. The firm argues the drop reflects profit-taking rather than weaker fundamentals.

However, another abort would deepen pressure ahead of August share unlocks. Q2 earnings, due in early August, will also trigger SpaceX’s first major share unlock since the IPO. The Nasdaq-100 inclusion drop already showed how sensitive shares are to news flow, even on a day with otherwise positive headlines.

Thursday’s launch window now carries outsized weight for SPCX holders. Meanwhile, a successful flight could steady sentiment ahead of earnings. A second abort would leave the stock searching for a floor near its all-time low.

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