Space X fell further in premarket trading on Friday after aborted Starship test flight
SpaceX shares fell more than 4% in premarket trading on Friday, a day after the company halted a last-minute test flight of its Starship rocket and continued volatile post-IPO trading. The aerospace giant was scheduled to launch its Starship giant rocket within a 90-minute launch window at 5:45 pm (Texas time) on Thursday, but an engine ignition failure forced SpaceX to cancel the launch. "Part of the engine failed to start, triggering an automatic launch abort," billionaire founder Elon Musk said in a post on X. "The propellant is currently being unloaded. The next launch attempt is hopefully within a few days." SpaceX was last down 3.5% in pre-market trading, after falling more than 3% in after-hours trading. Musk later added in a separate post that both Raptor engines would be removed and replaced, with another launch planned for early next week. Investors are paying closer attention to the company's rocket testing after completing the largest IPO in history at $135 a share in June, raising a record $85.7 billion. SpaceX's stock price has experienced sharp rises and falls since its listing. This is SpaceX’s first test flight of Starship V3 since its blockbuster IPO. A previous attempt in May failed after sending the Starship Upper Stage to the Indian Ocean. The Super Heavy booster failed to achieve a controlled landing in the Gulf of Mexico because five of its 33 Raptor engines failed to re-ignite. The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) ordered an investigation into the accident and gave the company permission on Monday to continue test flights.