Key Points
SpaceX just launched three rockets in under 13 hours.
The "space" company is making even more money -- a lot more -- selling AI services than it is selling rocket launches.
Space Exploration Technologies (NASDAQ:SPCX) stock soared 6.1% through 11 a.m. ET Friday after demonstrating a remarkable series of space launches over the preceding 24 hours.
Tic-tac-toe, three in a row, SpaceX launched:
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- A Crew Dragon capsule atop a Falcon 9 rocket, carrying four astronauts to the International Space Station as "Crew-13."
- Its 18th "Transporter" mission (i.e., the small-sat express) carrying 130 separate payloads to orbit atop a different a Falcon 9 reusable rocket.
- And National Reconnaissance Office mission NROL-97 atop a Falcon Heavy rocket (then landed both booster segments back on Earth for later reuse).
Oh, and SpaceX accomplished all that in under 13 hours!
Image source: The Motley Fool.
What else is SpaceX up to today?
But SpaceX wasn't done yet.
A second catalyst that may be lifting SpaceX today is more of a financial boon than an operational success. In June, SpaceX inked a deal with Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) (NASDAQ:GOOGL) promising to provide artificial intelligence computing services to the hyperscaler -- for which services SpaceX will be paid $920 million per month over 32 months.
As CNBC reported at the time, the Alphabet contract kicks into high gear in October and will run through June 2029, over which time it should add $29.4 billion to SpaceX's coffers. And this is on top of a separate contract with Anthropic that has that company paying SpaceX $1.25 billion per month.
What's next for SpaceX?
Long story short, as strongly as it's performing on the space front, SpaceX the space company is now making far more money (nearly $2.2 billion a month) from selling AI services than from launching rockets.
We're still a long way from Elon Musk's promise to turn SpaceX into a $26.5 trillion-a-year AI stock, granted. But it's starting to look like SpaceX is on the right track to make that happen.
Rich Smith has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Alphabet. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.