SpaceX Prices $75B IPO at $1.77T, K2 and Rocket Lab Win PTS-G Bus Roles, Thales and Airbus Take Sentinel-1 NG

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The briefing

SpaceX began trading on the Nasdaq Friday under the ticker SPCX after pricing 555.6 million shares at $135 apiece, raising $75 billion at a $1.77 trillion valuation in the largest IPO on record. The company marked the debut by launching the Starlink 10-54 mission from Cape Canaveral less than an hour before the opening bell, sending 29 V2 Mini Optimized satellites to low Earth orbit on Falcon 9 booster B1080's 27th flight.

Space Systems Command named the teams behind its next protected satcom layer: K2 Space will supply the bus for SES's Protected Tactical Satcom-Global entry and Rocket Lab the bus for Viasat's, the two primes sharing a $437.7 million award targeting 2029 service. Rocket Lab will also join the Nasdaq-100 on June 22. In Europe, ESA awarded Thales Alenia Space and Airbus two Sentinel-1 NG radar satellites, a first €700 million tranche to Thales and €345 million in payloads to Airbus, plus a separate €10.9 million ESA award to AAC Clyde Space to complete the 12-satellite Inflecion VDES maritime constellation.

On the Hill, the Senate Armed Services Committee advanced a $1.15 trillion FY27 NDAA that would dissolve the Space Development Agency and Space Rapid Capabilities Office as standalone statutory bodies and fold them into the Space Force's portfolio-acquisition framework. The bill also conditions some Pentagon funding on an independent assessment of space-based missile defense, and adds industrial-base provisions that could restrict shareholder distributions for contractors that fall short on capacity investment.

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The headlines

SpaceX prices $75B IPO at $1.77T as Falcon 9 flies on Nasdaq debut

SpaceX

SpaceX priced its IPO at $135 per share for 555.6 million shares, raising $75 billion at a $1.77 trillion valuation and making it the largest IPO on record. The company opened trading under SPCX on Friday and launched the Starlink 10-54 mission from Cape Canaveral less than an hour before the opening bell, sending 29 V2 Mini Optimized satellites to orbit on Falcon 9 booster B1080's 27th flight.

K2 Space and Rocket Lab win bus roles on Space Force PTS-G

RKLB VSAT

K2 Space will supply the satellite platform for SES's Protected Tactical Satcom-Global entry, and Rocket Lab will supply the bus for Viasat's PTS-G satellite, Space Systems Command confirmed. SES and Viasat were selected as PTS-G primes last month under a combined $437.7 million award to build and operate satellites for five years, with on-orbit service targeted for 2029 in X-band and military Ka-band.

Rocket Lab to join the Nasdaq-100 on June 22

RKLB

Rocket Lab said it will be added to the Nasdaq-100 Index before market open on Monday, June 22, placing it among the 100 largest non-financial companies on the Nasdaq. The company has completed more than 80 launches and deployed over 250 satellites since its 2021 listing, and pointed to its medium-class Neutron program, hypersonic test work, and spacecraft business as the basis for inclusion.

ESA picks Thales and Airbus for Sentinel-1 NG

AIR HO

ESA selected Thales Alenia Space to build two Sentinel-1 NG radar satellites for the Copernicus program, with Airbus Defence and Space supplying the synthetic aperture radar payloads. Thales's first contract tranche is worth €700 million ($807 million), and Airbus's payload contract with Thales is worth €345 million. The new spacecraft will offer 5-by-5 meter geometric resolution and a 400-kilometer swath, with active beam steering for polar observation.

AAC Clyde Space wins €10.9M ESA contract for Inflecion VDES constellation

ESA awarded AAC Clyde Space a €10.9 million ($12.6 million) contract to complete development and demonstrate VHF Data Exchange System satellites for the 12-satellite Inflecion maritime domain awareness constellation. The system pairs synthetic aperture radar data from Iceye UK and signals intelligence from Horizon Technologies with two-way VDES links to challenge ships, including those that turn off AIS transponders, with services targeted for early 2029.

Senate NDAA folds Space Development Agency (SDA) and Space RCO into Space Force acquisition

The Senate Armed Services Committee advanced its FY27 NDAA on an 18-9 vote, including language that would eliminate separate statutory requirements for the Space Development Agency and the Space Rapid Capabilities Office and integrate them into the Space Force's Portfolio Acquisition Executive framework. The $1.15 trillion bill also conditions some Pentagon funding on an independent assessment of space-based missile defense and would require defense contractors to submit capacity-investment plans, with potential restrictions on shareholder distributions for those that fall short.

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Market pulse

Archived snapshot from this edition. Prices and moves are not live.

Gainers+11

Decliners-33

Big mover GLW+10.4%

LHX: The Dutch Ministry of Defence (MoD) and L3Harris Technologies signed a strategic partnership agreement at the Kromhoutkazerne in Utrecht, Netherlands. Strategic partnership.

Asset	Snapshot	Move
GLWCorning	$193.57	+10.4%
MTRNMaterion	$271.36	+2.8%
APHAmphenol	$164.95	+2.4%
ASTSAST SpaceMobile	$78.10	-8.6%
VOYGVoyager Space	$35.79	-7.1%
LHXL3Harris Technologies	$291.87	-6.8%