First flight after $85 billion IPO delayed; SpaceX stock drops over 6% in two days as market sentiment turns cautious.

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SpaceX Starship rocket test launch was aborted at the last moment. Coupled with volatility following its IPO, this aerospace giant’s stock is under clear pressure.

On Thursday, SpaceX originally planned to open a 90-minute launch window in Texas at 5:45 PM EST, but engine ignition failure forced the mission to abort. Founder Elon Musk later posted on the X platform saying, "Some engines failed to start, triggering an automatic abort procedure. We are currently unloading propellant and hope to try launching again in a few days." He later added that two Raptor engines would be removed and replaced, with plans to relaunch in early next week.

Affected by this news, SpaceX stock fell over 3% after hours on Thursday, and dropped another 3.5% in pre-market trading on Friday. The cumulative two-day drop exceeded 6%. This comes just weeks after the company completed a record-breaking $85.7 billion IPO in June, listing at $135 per share.

After the largest IPO in history, the market is highly sensitive to testing progress

SpaceX’s IPO completed in June set a historic record, becoming the largest initial public offering ever. Since listing, its stock has experienced wide fluctuations, with gains and losses.

For this reason, investors pay much closer attention to each rocket test than before. This Starship V3 test flight is SpaceX’s first Starship trial since the IPO, and the market sees it as an important window to assess the company’s technological advancement and execution capabilities. The launch’s cancellation directly intensified market wait-and-see sentiment.

Test failures are not the first; FAA investigation just lifted

This abort is not the first setback SpaceX has encountered recently. In May, another Starship test also failed—the upper-stage vehicle deviated toward the Indian Ocean, and the Super Heavy booster failed to achieve a controlled landing in the Gulf of Mexico because 5 of its 33 Raptor engines did not re-ignite.

That accident prompted an investigation by the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). On Monday this week, the FAA announced the end of its investigation and formally approved SpaceX to continue its test plans. This Starship V3 launch attempt was made immediately after regulatory clearance was granted.

Musk: Will try again in a few days, technical issues are manageable

Musk’s characterization of this abort event on social media was relatively optimistic, attributing it to identifiable and fixable hardware issues—two Raptor engines will be removed and replaced, and another launch attempt will happen early next week.

This statement has somewhat anchored market expectations, but given the post-IPO stock’s volatility, investor sentiment remains cautious in the short term. Whether the next launch can proceed smoothly will be a key node for the market to reassess SpaceX’s technological path and valuation logic.

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