Rocket Lab Delays First Neutron Launch to 2027 After Dome Defects Found

Space stocks were mostly lower during the week. Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (NASDAQ: SPCX) set the tone with an $8 billion move into terrestrial wireless, with effects extending beyond the space sector. Rocket Lab Corp.

(NASDAQ: RKLB) suffered the biggest company-specific decline after delaying its Neutron debut to 2027. Macroeconomic conditions added pressure. September inflation came in hotter than expected, pushing Treasury yields higher midweek and weighing on growth stocks across the group. Several shares that had been under pressure rebounded Thursday ahead of the week’s final session.

SpaceX agreed last week to acquire Grain Management’s nationwide 800 MHz spectrum portfolio. The companies did not disclose the terms; the Wall Street Journal put the price at about $8 billion. CEO Elon Musk described the acquisition on X as a “very big deal.” Low-band spectrum reaches farther and penetrates buildings more effectively than higher-frequency airwaves. SpaceX said the licenses address a key technical gap as Starlink Mobile seeks to become a major U.S.

mobile carrier. The deal remains subject to Federal The development received Communications Commission approval. Carrier investors viewed it as a direct threat, sending Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ), AT&T Inc.

(NYSE: T) and T-Mobile US Inc. (NASDAQ: TMUS) lower. Morgan Stanley analysts said SpaceX appears poised to pursue spectrum more aggressively, Reuters reported. They expect any impact on carriers to emerge gradually, beginning in rural markets.

As of Friday morning, SpaceX shares had fallen 7.44% over the past week, according to Pro market data. Tesla’s Roadster reveal renews merger speculation. Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ: TSLA) unveiled its second-generation Roadster Thursday night at a SpaceX test site in McGregor, Texas.

SpaceX-developed thrusters enabled the “flying” car to travel upside down along a curved ramp, flip in midair and jump over a row of Tesla vehicles. Production is slated for 2028. Wedbush analyst Dan Ives said the event bolstered the case for a Tesla-SpaceX merger. Barclays has also floated a potential deal before Tesla’s annual meeting in early December.

In Friday’s premarket trading, Tesla shares climbed 4.79% to $379.80, while SpaceX The stock rose 2.33% to $152.08, following a Thursday close at $148.62. AST SpaceMobile Inc. (NASDAQ: ASTS) was the space company most directly affected by news about SpaceX’s spectrum. Piper Sandler analyst Alexander Potter downgraded the stock to Neutral from Overweight on Tuesday and reduced his price target to $54 from $98.

He lowered his satellite deployment forecast to 18 by the end of 2026, versus 45 previously. He also moved his expected start date for U.S. commercial service to the second half of 2027 from the fourth quarter of 2026. Potter’s concern centers on SpaceX, which could limit launch capacity for AST, put pressure on service pricing or offer competing devices.

He still sees potential upside beyond 2027, and said a more aggressive SpaceX could lead mobile operators to consider other satellite providers. ASTS closed Wednesday down 10.46% at $42.14, setting a new 52-week low. It then rebounded 5.51% on Thursday to $44.46. Rocket Lab confirmed Wednesday that the first Neutron launch has been pushed into 2027.

CEO Peter Beck had warned in August that the opportunity for a 2026 debut was narrowing, so few were The timing caught investors off guard, while the cause drew further scrutiny. Inspections found small air pockets between carbon-fiber layers in the rocket’s forward propellant dome, defects that could weaken the structure. The issue emerged after Rocket Lab changed its manufacturing process and made parts of the dome thicker to increase strength. Rocket Lab shares closed Wednesday down 7.85% at $59.18, then dropped another 6.64% Thursday to $55.25.

They were up 0.71% at $55.64 in Friday premarket trading. Planet Labs PBC’s (NYSE: PL) Sinergise subsidiary secured a place on Thursday in a 12-month European Space Agency-backed pilot in Slovenia aimed at automating disaster response. However, interest rates weighed more heavily on the stock. September inflation was 3.7%, above the 3.6% forecast, prompting traders to increase bets on another Federal Reserve rate hike.

Growth stocks broadly came under pressure. Despite rebounding Thursday, Planet Labs shares remained well below their 50-day moving average of $14.27, according to Pro. WISeSat.Space Rallies on a Launch Date One of the sector’s newest listings recorded one of its few gains. WISeSat.Space Holdings Corp.

(NASDAQ: SAIQ) jumped last Friday, following confirmation of an October satellite launch with aerospace partner FOSSA Systems. The mission supports WISeSat.Space’s Quantum Spatial Orbital Cloud roadmap, which incorporates post-quantum cryptography, hardware roots of trust and digital identity into space infrastructure. WISeSat.Space completed its merger with Columbus Acquisition Corp. and began trading as SAIQ on Oct.

2. Other Names Slide; What Comes Next Intuitive Machines Inc. (NASDAQ: LUNR) and Firefly Aerospace Inc. (NASDAQ: FLY) had no major news this week but posted steep declines.

Intuitive Machines closed Wednesday at 11.02, down 9.52%, while Firefly reached a 52-week low of 15.99 on Thursday. Both recovered by the close: Intuitive Machines rose 4.99% to 11.57, and Firefly gained 4.76% to 17.83. Smaller space stocks tend to magnify shifts in sentiment around SpaceX. Investors often trade the group as one theme, and SpaceX is also the launch provider for Intuitive Machines’ lunar missions.

SpaceX has two events scheduled. Gabriela Castillo Madrid, the company’s head of global government affairs for AI, is scheduled to testify by video before the New York City Council at 10 a.m. ET Friday. Rocket Lab’s technology committee is conducting an AI safety investigation.

Another tranche of SpaceX shares becomes eligible to trade on Oct. 26.