VANDENBERG SPACE FORCE BASE, California, June 25, 2026, 02:02 PDT
- SpaceX sent up another 24 Starlink V2 Mini satellites from California, using Falcon 9 booster B1081 for its 25th flight.
- About 80% of Falcon 9 launches this year have been Starlink missions, with 59 Starlink flights out of 74 Falcon 9 liftoffs.
- SpaceX shares traded before the bell, after finishing at $154.54. Short interest is now 13% of free float.
SpaceX (NASDAQ:SPCX) put up 24 more Starlink satellites after a launch from Vandenberg Space Force Base Wednesday night. The company added a new group to its constellation, which has been the main evidence behind one of the market’s biggest recent IPOs.
Starlink 17-45 launched at 8:30 p.m. PDT from Space Launch Complex 4E. The Falcon 9 first stage B1081 touched down on the drone ship Of Course I Still Love You about 8 and a half minutes later. SpaceX deployed the satellites a little more than an hour after launch.
Investors aren’t watching the 24 new satellites; the network already has close to 10,700 active Starlink units, so this batch lifts the total by only about 0.2%. What’s bigger is the count of launches. Wednesday’s mission marked the 59th Falcon 9 flight this year for Starlink, out of 74 Falcon 9 launches in 2026.
Vandenberg is handling more launches now. Spaceflight Now reported that Wednesday’s flight was the seventh out of eight SpaceX missions set from the California site in June, while Florida is due for six launches this month. If SpaceX sticks with the plan, the company will reach 40 Vandenberg launches in the first half of 2026, ahead of Cape Canaveral’s 37.
Starlink is important because it’s the part of SpaceX’s business investors can measure. Reuters said SpaceX sales jumped 33% to $18.67 billion in 2025. Around 60% of that came from Starlink, which had about 10.3 million users and 9,600 satellites. SpaceX still booked a net loss of $4.94 billion after merging with xAI.
SpaceX was at $156.08 ahead of the Nasdaq open, up from its Wednesday close at $154.54, according to Google Finance. Market cap stood near $2.03 trillion. The 52-week range on the screen: high at $225.64, low at $147.11.
Short sellers are moving in on SpaceX. Reuters said short interest jumped to 13% of free float, up from 8% last session, based on Ortex Technologies figures. “Short interest in SpaceX is building remarkably fast for a stock that has only been public a couple of weeks,” Ortex’s Peter Hillerberg told Reuters. Reuters
SpaceX tapped the bond market for the first time since its IPO, according to Reuters, as cash reserves topped $100 billion and the company ramped up spending on Starship and AI infrastructure. “This debt choice over additional equity clearly prioritizes avoiding further shareholder dilution,” Adam Sarhan, chief executive at 50 Park Investments, told Reuters. Reuters
Michael Monaghan, partner portfolio manager at FounderETFs, said after the drop in share price, “Their revenue is increasing, and their balance sheet is getting better, not worse.” He also noted the stock’s high premium and low float could amplify swings in either direction. Al Jazeera
Investors get another timing clue with the launch window. KSBY reported a two-hour window from 7:48 p.m. to 9:48 p.m. PDT, and SpaceX lifted off 42 minutes after the window started. In June, Spaceflight Now said there was a 56-hour gap at Vandenberg’s SLC-4E pad after the Starlink 17-28 mission.
Investors are watching the first post-IPO earnings report, not a rocket launch, for the next move. SpaceX’s prospectus points to as much as 20% of some locked-up shares able to transfer after quarterly results covering the period ending June 30. As much as 10% more could move if Nasdaq’s closing price sits at least 30% above the $135 offer price for five of the 10 days leading up to that earnings release.
