New York: SpaceX shares slipped below their initial public offering (IPO) price for the first time after the company aborted the launch of its flagship Starship rocket, extending the stock’s losing streak since its market debut.
The shares closed at $131.11, down 3.08 per cent for the day and below the IPO price of $135.
The decline marked the fifth consecutive losing session since the aerospace company’s June 12 listing, which became the largest IPO in history by raising around $86 billion.
The selling pressure intensified in after-hours trading, with the stock falling as low as $124 after SpaceX called off the planned launch of its Starship rocket from the company’s Starbase facility in South Texas.
The Starship test flight was scheduled to lift off during a 90-minute launch window that opened at 6:45 p.m. ET on Thursday.
However, minutes after the launch window began, the company announced it was “standing down for the day” after the launch sequence was aborted while the rocket’s engines were igniting.
SpaceX CEO Elon Musk later said on X that the launch was automatically aborted because some of the engines failed to start.
“Some of the engines didn’t start, triggering an automatic launch abort. Now offloading propellant. Next launch attempt hopefully in a few days,” Musk said.
In a subsequent post, Musk said two Raptor engines would be removed and replaced, with the next launch attempt most likely to take place early next week.
The mission marked the 13th test flight of Starship and the second test of the upgraded V3 version of the rocket, which stands about 400 feet tall.
The previous V3 test flight in May achieved liftoff, but several engines on the rocket’s lower stage failed to reignite, causing the vehicle to fall into the Gulf of Mexico before completing its mission.
(IANS)
