SpaceX shares climbed back above the $135 IPO price on news of a Vietnam satellite launch deal.

On Aug. 11, blockchain outlet Cryptopolitan reported that SpaceX will launch the first satellite of VinSpace, a space business unit of Vietnam conglomerate Vingroup, in the second quarter of 2027 under its Transporter program.

The deal is drawing attention because it signals SpaceX is entering Vietnam’s space industry plan in earnest. Vietnam’s Communist Party leadership in 2024 for the first time elevated space technology to a national strategic priority. Vietnam previously put Vinasat-1 into orbit in 2008. This time, a private company will launch a domestically developed satellite using a private launch service.

The market reacted immediately. SpaceX shares closed at $138.74 in Aug. 10 trading, up 4.2 percent in a day. That put the stock back above the $135 IPO price set on June 12 after it had traded below it for a while. The shares opened at $150 on their first day of listing and jumped as high as $225.64 intraday on June 16, but fell back to around $105 in early August. On Aug. 7, they surged about 16 percent in a day, setting up a rebound.

The volatility reflected investment burdens more than performance. SpaceX’s second-quarter revenue rose 92 percent to $7.8 billion, helped by Starlink growth as paid subscribers exceeded 12 million. But AI capital spending in the same quarter reached $18.4 billion, resulting in a net loss of $541 million. Elon Musk said at an earnings briefing on Aug. 4 that the company is building large-scale AI computing capacity faster than anyone.

SpaceX and Tesla on Aug. 6 also announced a $16.8 billion semiconductor complex plan in Grimes County, Texas, dubbed “TerraFab”. The project’s investment scale could grow in stages to a total of $119 billion. Concerns about large AI investment contributed to selling pressure, but some investors viewed it as a growth driver. Argus Research later raised its SpaceX rating to buy and set a target price of $160.

Vietnam is also treating the launch as a turning point for technology validation. Buu Trong Tu (부쫑투), VinSpace’s chief executive officer, said in a statement that putting domestically developed satellite modules into orbit is a process of turning research into real missions. He also said the SpaceX contract is a step in a long-term plan to connect Vietnam to the global space value chain.

VinSpace is Vietnam’s only private space company, established by Vingroup in November last year. Its initial investment is 300 billion Vietnamese dong, about $11.5 million. Company documents show Pham Nhat Vuong holds a 71 percent stake as Vingroup’s founder and Vietnam’s richest person. VinSpace plans to build satellites itself and also handle operations after orbital insertion.

The deal is also significant because cooperation between Vietnam and SpaceX is expanding from satellite internet to launch services. Vietnam in April granted SpaceX’s satellite internet service Starlink its first large-scale connectivity testing licence in the country. SpaceX will therefore continue expanding both its telecommunications and space launch businesses in Vietnam.