SpaceX IPO Nears Reality

SpaceX filed its S-1 registration statement with the SEC on May 20th, putting the world's most anticipated IPO on an official countdown. The prospectus targets up to $75 billion in proceeds at a valuation approaching $2 trillion. The filing revealed that Musk controls 85% of shareholder votes and that the company lost nearly $5 billion last year, driven in part by AI division spending. Starlink is the only profitable segment.

 For markets, the deal would reset expectations around private-to-public transitions and test whether retail investors, allocated 30% of the offering, three times the typical share, will absorb that risk willingly.

 

Odysseus Lunar Lander Shuts Down After Week-Long Mission

The Odysseus lunar lander has been shut down by its operators after successfully transmitting data for the past week. The lander, developed by Houston-based Intuitive Machines and launched by a SpaceX rocket, was part of the first private mission to the moon, as opposed to government-sponsored missions.

The mission did face a challenge when the lander tipped over shortly after reaching the lunar surface, a result of a harder-than-expected landing that broke two of its legs, but the lander continued to communicate with the earth-based team.

Intuitive Machines hopes that the lander will be able to be brought back online once solar power becomes available to its solar panels again.

 

America Returns to Space

Amid the coronavirus pandemic and the unrest related to the death of George Floyd, the US has something to celebrate. For the first time since 2011, a US spacecraft has carried Americans into space, and for the first time a private corporation, SpaceX, was responsible for the development of a manned spacecraft.

The spacecraft, a Crew Dragon, lifted off on Friday. The first attempt to launch was canceled on May 27 because of bad weather related to Tropical Storm Bertha. While thunderstorms were in some neighboring areas to the launch site on Friday, they were not close enough to cause the launch to be scrubbed.