At the time when the stock price of SpaceX (SPCX.US) is falling, Starship V3 is striving to carry the faith in "Starlink, lunar landing, and space AI" through its 13th test flight.

Elon Musk's American super technology giant SpaceX (SPCX.US) focusing on "AI + space exploration" will attempt a major test flight of its giant Starship rocket on Thursday local time. For Elon Musk's comprehensive super enterprise group "Space AI Empire" focusing on cutting-edge technology fields such as space, satellite communications, AI computing infrastructure, and artificial intelligence applications, this spacecraft is a crucial technological link, and this test flight will be an important milestone. The launch is scheduled to take place at 5:45 p.m. local time from SpaceX's Starship base in southern Texas. This will be the second launch and flight of the latest version of the Starship rocket known as the third version or V3. The rocket will carry upgraded Starlink satellites into space; as part of this test mission, these satellites will later burn up in the atmosphere. The Starship will be executing a suborbital test trajectory and will not be sending the satellites into a stable circular orbit that can be maintained long-term, so it is deliberately designed as a "sacrificial verification"; after the release of 20 Starlink V3 satellites, they will fly along a similar trajectory to the Starship, and their orbit will penetrate deep into the atmosphere, causing them to burn up due to high-speed reentry heating after about 20 minutes. In other words, "entering space" does not equal "successfully entering orbit", as achieving long-term operation requires acquiring sufficient horizontal velocity and completing orbital circularization. This test will mainly verify the Starship satellite release mechanism, Starlink V3CECEP Solar Energy panels and antenna deployment, laser inter-satellite links and ground communication capabilities; some of the satellites will also carry cameras and sensors to observe the heat shield and control performance of the Starship during reentry. By sacrificing 20 early satellites, SpaceX can reduce the technological risks of deploying thousands of V3 satellites in the future and commercializing Starship operations; voluntarily burning them up can also avoid the test payloads becoming long-term space debris. As the richest person in the world to date, Musk has accomplished what others thought impossible in the past - creating a commercially viable high-frequency rocket launch business through SpaceX, making electric vehicles mainstream through the global leader in electric vehicles, Tesla, Inc., and providing internet connectivity infrastructure services from space through Starlink. However, some investors doubt whether Musk can really build his latest "epic" chip manufacturing operation in Austin and whether he can really achieve his vision of an "artificial intelligence, autonomous driving, humanoid Siasun Robot & Automation, and space AI data center super blueprint." Starship returns to the launch pad: Critical battle for space AI data center, Starlink expansion, and human moon landing plan This rocket launch and test flight is also the core of Musk's ambitions for space AI empire, which includes deploying massive AI data centers in space, expanding the Starlink satellite communication network, and sending humans and a large Siasun Robot & Automation legion to the moon and Mars. However, the actual development process has not been smooth, with many explosive setbacks, failures, and delays. This Starship test will be the 13th flight of the rocket, as well as the first Starship launch and flight since SpaceX's sensational initial public offering in June and the record-breaking raise of approximately $86 billion in capital markets history. SpaceX's stock price soared shortly after going public, but has recently declined, closing at nearly $135 per share on July 15, close to the IPO price. Despite the stock price decline, Wall Street analysts overall remain generally positive about the stock. The space exploration and artificial intelligence company founded and led by Musk has designed the Starship as a fully reusable rocket, a grand goal that no other rocket manufacturer has yet achieved on a large scale. According to the design, the super heavy booster and Starship spacecraft will return intact to Earth after each launch so they can fly to space again. Musk expects SpaceX to achieve full reusability using the upgraded V3 rocket by the end of this year. It is understood that SpaceX has invested over $15 billion in developing the Starship system. In the most recent test flight conducted in May, the Starship successfully deployed simulation satellites, but the rocket booster lost control and began to spin uncontrolled, with one engine shutting down prematurely. According to an article published on the SpaceX official website, the company has since made modifications to the hardware and software to address these issues. Senior analyst Brian Gualei from Raymond James, a well-known Wall Street investment firm, stated in a report on July 13, "We believe that if SpaceX can ensure that all primary engines operate normally and efficiently, execute the scheduled restart and landing procedure, and bring back more valuable thermal protection shield and control surface statistical data, the 13th flight will represent substantial progress compared to the 12th flight." He added that successful operation of the Starship "is one of the key paths for SpaceX's investment logic to be established". Senior stock analyst Jonathan Sigman from Steifel said that if the Starship test is successful this time, it may prompt the company to attempt to formally place the spacecraft into orbit on the next flight. SpaceX holds a $4 billion contract with NASA to use the Starship to transport astronauts to the moon as early as 2028. To achieve this goal, SpaceX must efficiently refuel the spacecraft in space, launch it more than ten times in a row, and ensure it has safe crew-carrying capabilities. For a spacecraft that has not yet completed a full orbital flight mission, these are a series of highly challenging tasks. Thursday's flight plan will be similar to previous test missions. During launch, the super heavy booster will ignite 33 SpaceX Raptor engines, sending the Starship into space to reach near-orbital speed. Subsequently, the booster will separate from the Starship and attempt to splash down in the Gulf of Mexico. During the space flight, the Starship system will attempt to conduct multiple critical tests, including restarting an engine, and deploying at least 20 Starlink satellites. These satellites will significantly expand the CECEP Solar Energy solar panel array and attempt to establish connections with a wider range of Starlink satellites through laser communication. Approximately 20 minutes after deployment, these satellites should re-enter the Earth's atmosphere and burn up. The Starship is planned to splash down in the Indian Ocean about an hour after launch. Stock price breaking and Starship igniting bullish fever: SpaceX defends "Starlink, lunar landing, and orbital data center" faith with 13th test flight For the SpaceX stock price, the 13th Starship test flight is an important window to reevaluate execution strength, but not a standalone universal catalyst to reverse the stock price. The company's stock price reached a low of $132.28 on Wednesday, the first time below the $135 IPO price, closing at $135.27; the market value has fallen from a high of over $2.6 trillion shortly after going public to about $1.78 trillion. Market concerns stem not only from technological risks, but also from the company's $4.9 billion loss last year, recent issuance of $25 billion in bonds for AI and infrastructure investments, and potential supply pressure from August's financial report and some unlocked shares. If this test flight successfully completes engine operation, mid-air restart, satellite deployment, and controlled splashdown, it will reduce the tail risks of the Starship's development path, potentially triggering a sentiment-driven rebound trajectory after overselling; but continuous reappraisal will still require subsequent orbital flights, reusability, and commercial cash flow realization. In terms of SpaceX's performance fundamentals, the Starship is not an ordinary product among the company's numerous projects, but the underlying transport system shared in the narratives of Starlink expansion, space AI data center, and manned lunar missions. Once full reusability and hundred-ton level capacity are achieved, the unit cost of payload delivery can be significantly reduced, allowing larger Starlink satellites, high-power computing payloads, and orbital infrastructure to be sent into space at a higher frequency. SpaceX has launched 1,589 Starlink satellites in the first half of this year, demonstrating its leading deployment capabilities, but the orbital AI data center is still in the early concept and engineering verification stage. The technological barriers for lunar missions are even higher: NASA's plan requires launching an orbital fuel depot and completing propulsion aggregation through more than ten Starship refueling flights, so each reliability, reuse, and on-orbit operational progress actually increases the probability of achieving the three long-term businesses. The "Musk faith" sweeping global investors may intensify further with a successful test flight, but its nature is changing: before going public, it could rely on grand visions for pricing, but after going public, it must turn to milestones, revenue, and capital return rates for pricing. What can truly upgrade belief into a sustainable bull market is multiple stable flights, full reusability, first complete orbital insertion, in-orbit refueling, and revenue generation from Starlink and orbital data center cover the massive capital expenditure.