Space stocks spent most of the week in the red. Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (NASDAQ:SPCX) set the agenda with an $8 billion push into terrestrial wireless, and the fallout reached well past the space sector. Rocket Lab Corp. (NASDAQ:RKLB) took the week’s biggest company-specific hit after pushing its Neutron debut into 2027.

Macro conditions did not help the space sector. Hotter-than-expected September inflation sent Treasury yields higher midweek, and growth names across the group sold off with them. Several beaten-down names bounced Thursday heading into the final session of the week.

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SpaceX Buys Its Way Into Wireless

SpaceX agreed last week to acquire Grain Management’s nationwide 800 MHz spectrum portfolio. Neither company disclosed terms, but the Wall Street Journal reported the price at about $8 billion. CEO Elon Musk called the acquisition a “very big deal” on X.

Low-band spectrum travels farther and penetrates buildings better than higher-frequency airwaves. SpaceX said the licenses close a key technical gap for Starlink Mobile to become a major U.S. mobile carrier. The deal still needs Federal Communications Commission approval.

Carrier investors read it as a direct threat with Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ), AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) and T-Mobile US Inc. (NASDAQ:TMUS) all falling on the news.  

Morgan Stanley analysts wrote that SpaceX looks set to become a more aggressive spectrum buyer, according to Reuters, though they expect any threat to carriers to build slowly, starting in rural markets.

As of Friday morning, SpaceX shares were down 7.44% over the past week, according to Benzinga Pro market data. 

Roadster Reveal Revives Merger Talk

Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) unveiled its second-generation Roadster Thursday night at a SpaceX test site in McGregor, Texas.

SpaceX-developed thrusters helped the “flying” car drive upside down along a curved ramp, flip midair and hop over a row of Tesla vehicles. Production is slated for 2028. 

Wedbush analyst Dan Ives said the event strengthened the case for a Tesla-SpaceX merger, and Barclays has floated a possible deal before Tesla’s annual meeting in early December. 

In Friday’s premarket trading, Tesla shares rose 4.79% to $379.80, and SpaceX gained 2.33% to $152.08 after closing Thursday at $148.62. 

AST SpaceMobile Sinks to 52-Week Low

Among the space names, AST SpaceMobile Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTS) felt the SpaceX spectrum news most directly. Then came a downgrade. Piper Sandler analyst Alexander Potter cut the stock to Neutral from Overweight on Tuesday and lowered his price target to $54 from $98.

Potter trimmed his satellite deployment forecast to 18 by the end of 2026, down from 45. He also pushed the expected start of U.S. commercial service to the second half of 2027 from the fourth quarter of 2026. SpaceX sits at the center of his concern, since the company could restrict launch capacity for AST, undercut service pricing or introduce competing devices.

Potter still sees upside beyond 2027. He noted that a more aggressive SpaceX could push mobile operators toward alternative satellite providers.

ASTS stock closed Wednesday down 10.46% at $42.14, a fresh 52-week low, then rebounded 5.51% Thursday to $44.46.

Rocket Lab Pushes Neutron to 2027

Rocket Lab confirmed Wednesday that the first Neutron launch will slip into 2027. CEO Peter Beck warned in August that the window for a 2026 debut was narrowing, so few were surprised by the timing. The cause drew more attention.

Inspections turned up tiny air pockets between carbon fiber layers in the rocket’s forward propellant dome, defects capable of weakening the structure. The flaw appeared after Rocket Lab changed its manufacturing process and thickened parts of the dome to add strength.

Shares closed Wednesday down 7.85% at $59.18 and fell another 6.64% Thursday to $55.25. The stock edged up 0.71% to $55.64 in Friday premarket trading.

Higher Yields Weigh on Planet Labs

Planet Labs PBC.’s (NYSE:PL) Sinergise subsidiary won a spot in a 12-month European Space Agency-backed pilot in Slovenia focused on automating disaster response on Thursday, but interest rates mattered more. September inflation came in at 3.7%, above the 3.6% forecast, and traders raised bets on another Federal Reserve hike. 

Growth stocks across the board absorbed the hit. Even after Thursday’s rebound, Planet Labs’ stock sits well below its 50-day moving average at $14.27, per Benzinga Pro. 

WISeSat.Space Rallies On A Launch Date

One of the sector’s newest listings posted one of its few gains. WISeSat.Space Holdings Corp. (NASDAQ:SAIQ) jumped last Friday after confirming an October satellite launch with aerospace partner FOSSA Systems.

The mission advances the company’s Quantum Spatial Orbital Cloud roadmap, which builds 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 under SAIQ on Oct. 2.

Other Names Slide & What Comes Next

Intuitive Machines Inc. (NASDAQ:LUNR) and Firefly Aerospace Inc. (NASDAQ:FLY) released no major news this week and still fell hard. Intuitive Machines closed Wednesday at $11.02, down 9.52%, and Firefly touched a 52-week low of $15.99 on Thursday. Both bounced by the close, with Intuitive Machines up 4.99% at $11.57 and Firefly up 4.76% at $17.83.

Smaller space stocks tend to amplify swings in sentiment around SpaceX. Investors often trade the group as a single theme, and SpaceX also serves as the launch provider for Intuitive Machines’ lunar missions.

SpaceX also has two events on the calendar. Gabriela Castillo Madrid, the company’s head of global government affairs for AI, is scheduled to testify by video at 10 a.m. ET Friday before the New York City Council’s technology committee as part of its AI safety investigation. Another tranche of SpaceX shares unlocks on Oct. 26.

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