SpaceX launched another 24 Starlink satellites from California on Tuesday, pushing the network toward 11,000 spacecraft in low Earth orbit.

  • SpaceX already has permission from the U.S. government to put between 15,000 and 19,000 of its Gen-1 and Gen-2 Starlink satellites into space.
  • Earlier this month, CEO Elon Musk said the entire Starlink system will eventually exceed 100,000 satellites.
  • Up to 319 million restricted shares of SpaceX held by employees and early investors will become eligible for trading on Thursday.

Shares of Space Exploration Technologies (SPCX) fell 3% on Wednesday as investors prepared for another major share unlock on Thursday, even while the company pushed its Starlink constellation closer to 11,000 satellites in orbit.

SpaceX launched another 24 Starlink satellites from California on Tuesday, pushing the network toward 11,000 spacecraft in low Earth orbit.

Rapid Growth Of The Constellation

As of August 19, tracking data from astronomer Jonathan McDowell shows around 10,979 Starlink satellites in orbit, with about 10,963 operational. SpaceX has launched more than 12,700 Starlink satellites since 2019, though roughly 1,700 have since deorbited. The constellation already accounts for nearly two-thirds of all active satellites circling Earth.

Ambitious Targets Ahead

SpaceX already has permission from the U.S. government to put between 15,000 and 19,000 of its Gen-1 and Gen-2 Starlink satellites into space. They have until 2031 to complete their launch.

Looking further ahead, the company has requested approval for a much larger next-generation network of up to 100,000 more advanced satellites. These new ones will be larger, more powerful, and designed to ride on SpaceX’s giant Starship rocket, which is currently under development. Current Starlink satellites are launched on the company’s Falcon rocket.

Earlier this month, CEO Elon Musk said the entire Starlink system will eventually exceed 100,000 satellites. That would give users extremely fast internet and let the network carry far more data than it does today, he noted.

Musk also said earlier this week that the space economy will exceed Goldman Sachs’s current projection of $1.8 trillion by 2035. “It will be much bigger,” Musk said in a post on X.

Starlink’s Financial Impact

In the second quarter of 2026, Starlink’s Connectivity segment generated $4.3 billion in revenue—about 55% of SpaceX’s total $7.8 billion—and delivered $1.7 billion in operating profit. That marked 66% year-over-year growth, driven by a doubling of subscribers to 12 million.

SpaceX wants Starlink to carry most of the world’s internet traffic within the next 10 years. The company envisions the network powering AI devices, bringing phone service to places with no current signal, and providing fast internet to homes, businesses, and governments everywhere.

Upcoming Share Unlock

SpaceX faces another significant share unlock on Thursday, August 20. Up to 319 million restricted shares held by employees and early investors become eligible for trading—the second major release since the company’s June IPO.

This tranche represents around 2.4% of total shares outstanding and could expand the current tradable float by about 20%. It follows an earlier August 6 unlock of up to 911.5 million shares. Additional releases are scheduled through the rest of 2026, with CEO Elon Musk’s large stake remaining locked until June 2027.

These shares were previously locked as part of standard post-IPO lock-up agreements aimed at stabilizing the stock and preventing a flood of selling right after the stock’s market debut.

How Did SPCX Retail Traders React?

On Stocktwits, retail sentiment around SPCX stock fell from ‘extremely bullish’ to ‘bullish’ territory over the past 24 hours, while message volume dropped from ‘normal’ to ‘low’ levels.

SPCX stock closed on Wednesday at $139.65, above its IPO price of $135 but below its all-time high of around $225 hit days after its debut on the Nasdaq in June. 

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