SpaceX launched 119 payloads — IPO buzz spikes
SpaceX flew Transporter‑16, lofting 119 payloads from California on March 30 — a reminder of the company's relentless launch cadence as it teases a blockbuster IPO with market chatter valuing the company near $1.75 trillion. The launch underscores the operational scale investors are pricing into the IPO story and has amplified social‑market frenzy and ticker bets. (space.com; axios.com)
Falcon 9 lifted from Space Launch Complex 4E at Vandenberg within a 57‑minute window that opened at 3:20 a.m. PT and achieved liftoff at 4:02 a.m. PT (11:02 UTC). (spacex.com) The first stage was booster B1093 on its 12th flight, and SpaceX targeted a landing on the drone ship Of Course I Still Love You (OCISLY) stationed in the Pacific. (spacex.com) Mission hardware included cubesats, microsats, hosted payloads and a reentry vehicle, plus orbital transfer vehicles (OTVs) that will carry eight customer spacecraft for later deployment; manifested customers named in flight tracking lists include Exolaunch’s EXOpod Nova CarboNIX, a HawkEye 360 cluster, multiple Spire Global satellites, Planet and Carbon Mapper’s Tanager‑2. (spacex.com) SpaceX’s public mission page notes the company has placed more than 1,600 payloads into orbit through its Rideshare program since inception. (spacex.com) Bloomberg reports the company could seek a valuation near $1.75 trillion in the IPO and may look to raise as much as $75 billion in the offering. (bloomberg.com) Prediction‑market activity around the potential listing topped roughly $15.2 million on Polymarket as traders wagered on valuation, exchange and ticker choices, and publicly traded space and satellite stocks such as Rocket Lab and AST SpaceMobile rallied after IPO reports. (usnews.com) Bloomberg and market analysts point to Starlink cash flows, SpaceX’s high launch cadence and Starship funding needs as the principal value drivers investors are baking into IPO pricing, with reported IPO proceeds earmarked for Starship development and related AI/data‑center initiatives tied to xAI. (bloomberg.com)
