SpaceX boss Elon Musk says Starship will fly ‘next month'
Musk made the announcement in a post on X, saying, 'Starship launches again next month.'
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Further details about a specific date have yet to be shared by Musk or SpaceX, but multiple reports over recent weeks have suggested the next flight of the world's most powerful rocket could take place in the first half of the month.
The 10th test flight would likely have taken place by now if it hadn't been for a massive explosion that occurred last month that saw the upper-stage spacecraft erupt into a fireball shortly after the completion of a ground-based engine test at SpaceX's Starbase facility in Boca Chica, Texas.
The cause was put down to a failure in a pressurized tank called a COPV (Composite Overwrapped Pressure Vessel) that contains gaseous nitrogen in the nosecone area of the spacecraft. This failure triggered a catastrophic chain reaction that destroyed the vehicle and damaged the test site.
Last week, Musk also said that shortly before next month's 10th test flight, he will give a technical update about the Starship, 'going over progress to date and engineering/production/launch plans for the future.'
NASA and SpaceX are aiming to use the Starship for crew and cargo flights to the moon in the upcoming Artemis missions. The first of these is likely to involve the use of a modified version of the upper-stage spacecraft to land two astronauts on the lunar surface in the Artemis III mission in what would be NASA's first human landing there since the final Apollo mission in 1972. The Artemis III mission is currently targeted for 2027, though that date could slip.
Musk is also keen to see the Starship used for the first-ever crewed mission to Mars. While he's spoken of such a mission taking place before the end of this decade, it seems unlikely to happen until the 2030s at the very earliest.
The 120-meter-tall Starship first flew in April 2023, and its most recent flight took place in May of this year. While the vehicle is making progress in terms of overall performance, there's still much testing to be done before it becomes operational.
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How SpaceX's rocket diplomacy backfired in the Bahamas
By Joey Roulette NASSAU, Bahamas (Reuters) -When SpaceX was negotiating a deal with the Bahamas last year to allow its Falcon 9 rocket boosters to land within the island nation's territory, Elon Musk's company offered a sweetener: complimentary Starlink internet terminals for the country's defense vessels, according to three people familiar with the matter. The rocket landing deal, unlocking a more efficient path to space for SpaceX's reusable Falcon 9, was then signed in February last year by Deputy Prime Minister Chester Cooper, who bypassed consultation with several other key government ministers, one of the sources and another person familiar with the talks said. Reuters could not determine the dollar value of the Starlink arrangement or the number of vessels outfitted with Starlink terminals. The Bahamian military, mostly a sea-faring force with a fleet of roughly a dozen vessels, did not respond to a request for comment. 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(See ATRO stock forecast) TAT Technologies (TATT) The second Truist pick we're looking at is TAT Technologies, a smaller player with a $420 million market cap. TAT has a global footprint, and is a provider of critical systems like thermal controls, APUs, and landing gear for a wide range of aircraft platforms. Among TAT's key product lines are its thermal solutions. This is a vital area for aircraft technology; at high speeds and altitudes, aircraft encounter extremes of both heat and cold. TAT's industry-leading thermal solutions include high-temperature-resistant precoolers, fuel-submerged hydraulic heat exchangers, oil coolers, advanced cold plates, air cycle and vapor cycle ECS heat exchangers, power electronics cooling systems, and environmental control systems. These systems regulate temperature across the aircraft, from the fuel system to passenger accommodations. 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Closely linked to this is TAT's work with hybrid electric aircraft and universal cooling systems. So, TAT has its fingers in many areas of the aerospace realm. That brought the company $42.1 million in revenue during 1Q25, a total that was up 23% from the prior-year period although it missed the forecast by $452,000. TAT's bottom line in the quarter came to 34 cents per share, beating expectations by 4 cents per share. For Ciarmoli, the future looks bright for this aerospace firm. The analyst notes a strong market for APU expertise, and writes of TATT, 'We expect favorable aftermarket trends coupled with recent APU share gains to continue to drive revenue growth. We model for 22% YOY growth in 2Q25 and 6 % seq'l growth. We would expect to see gross margins expand YOY on volume/mix and operating efficiencies and we anticipate a B2B >1x. Following the equity offering at the end of May we will look for updates from mgmt regarding use of proceeds and suspect some near term build of working capital to support the narrow body APU opportunity.' These comments support the analyst's Buy rating on TATT shares, and his $35 price target suggests a 9% upside potential in the next 12 months. While there are only 3 recent analyst reviews on record for TATT, they are all Buys, giving the stock its Strong Buy consensus rating. The shares have a current trading price of $32 and an average target price of $36 points toward a one-year gain of 12%. (See TATT stock forecast) To find good ideas for stocks trading at attractive valuations, visit TipRanks' Best Stocks to Buy, a tool that unites all of TipRanks' equity insights. Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the featured analysts. The content is intended to be used for informational purposes only. 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