en.Wedoany.com Reported - Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (SpaceX) CEO Elon Musk said during the company's first quarterly earnings call on August 4 that SpaceX will significantly accelerate the flight cadence of Starship and is preparing to attempt to catch the vehicle's upper stage on an upcoming mission.

Musk told analysts and investors that flight frequency is expected to increase rapidly, potentially reaching at least one flight per day or more within a year. The next Starship mission (Flight 14) could take place before the end of this month, with the company planning to catch both the first and second stages of Starship V3 this year, and possibly capturing the Starship spacecraft as early as the next flight. On the most recent mission, the company deliberately splashed the vehicle down in the Indian Ocean. Musk believes that Starship's heat shield issues have now been resolved, although further improvements may be made in the future.

On the next test mission, Starship will deploy the first batch of Starlink Version 3 satellites into operational orbit. Musk said that, due to the greater power of these satellites, they are expected to drive growth in Starlink sales.

Chief Operating Officer Gwynne Shotwell outlined the next steps for Starship, including in-orbit propellant transfer and docking with the Orion spacecraft. This is part of NASA's Artemis 3 mission next year, followed by an uncrewed, direct lunar cargo mission, with plans to put boots on the lunar surface by 2028. Musk said the company could reach the reliability and safety levels required for human Starship flights by the end of 2027.

Musk also revealed that the company may begin deploying its data center satellite Starmind AI as early as next year, a year ahead of previous forecasts. The company plans to equip the AI1 satellite with NVIDIA Rubin graphics processing units (GPUs) and Vera central processing units (CPUs).

On the financial side, the company, which went public on June 12, posted second-quarter sales of $7.8 billion, up about 90% year over year. Connectivity revenue came in at $4.3 billion, with Starlink subscriptions doubling to 12 million. Operating loss was $143 million. SpaceX disclosed capital expenditures of $18.4 billion for the quarter, as the company seeks to expand its artificial intelligence activities, and plans to maintain a similar level of spending this quarter and next.

Musk said the company now expects to achieve $1 trillion in annual revenue by 2030, a year ahead of the original plan, and could even reach that milestone in 2029.

On launch activity, the company, known for its rapid launch cadence, conducted 38 launches in the quarter, down from 46 in the same period last year, with orbital mass also declining. However, space segment sales rose 29%, which the company said reflects an increase in launches for large customers.

Currently, only the connectivity business is generating operating profit. Most sales come from consumers, but about 40% come from government and enterprise customers, including the Starshield program for the Pentagon. Shotwell said enterprise and government business could grow to match or exceed consumer sales. In the second quarter, SpaceX secured $6 billion in U.S. government business for Starshield, and Shotwell expressed optimism about growth headroom in that sector over the coming year.

Shotwell noted that aviation is a growth opportunity, with the company's penetration rate in that segment at just 10%. Average revenue per user declined more than 20% year over year but was flat compared with the first quarter. CFO Bret Johnsen said that figure could continue to decline as Starlink expands further globally, but total revenue should keep growing.

Since its initial public offering (IPO), SpaceX shares have been highly volatile. The company priced its IPO at $135 per share, and the stock rose to $225.64 on June 16, pushing the company's valuation to nearly $3 trillion at one point. The stock has since given back all of those gains, recently falling to $104.83 before closing Tuesday at $125.33. The stock declined in after-hours trading following the earnings release.

Johnsen expects SpaceX to reach $100 billion in annual recurring revenue by year-end. The earnings release will also trigger the end of lock-up periods for some investors, allowing them to sell shares, which could put downward pressure on the stock as some holders may look to cash out.