AST SpaceMobile Plunges 17%, Planet Labs Drops 8% on Blue Origin Explosion, While Virgin Galactic Surges 11%

3 hours ago 7

David Moadel

Fri, May 29, 2026 astatine 10:41 AM CDT 5 min read

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AST SpaceMobile (ASTS) banal dropped 17% to $111 aft Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket exploded during a hotfire test, though ASTS uses SpaceX Falcon 9 arsenic its superior motorboat supplier with a BlueBird 8-10 ngo targeted for mid-June.
Planet Labs (PL) banal fell 8% to $47.50 arsenic commercialized motorboat capableness tightening raised constellation refresh risk, portion Rocket Lab (RKLB) banal slipped 6% to $139 though the institution could yet payment from extended New Glenn grounding.
Virgin Galactic (SPCE) banal rallied 11% to $5 arsenic traders positioned for a lawsuit displacement from Blue Origin’s grounded New Shepard tourism program.
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Space stocks are splitting sharply this Friday greeting aft Blue Origin's New Glenn rocket exploded during a hotfire trial precocious Thursday astatine Cape Canaveral. AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS) banal is down 17% to $111, portion Planet Labs (NYSE:PL) banal has dropped 8% to astir $47.50 and Rocket Lab (NASDAQ:RKLB) banal has slipped 6% to $139.

Virgin Galactic (NYSE:SPCE) banal is the outlier, rallying 11% to $5. The suborbital tourism relation competes straight with Blue Origin's New Shepard program, and traders look to beryllium treating today's setback arsenic a comparative triumph for the SPCE story.

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All 4 names came into the league with superior cushions to springiness back. AST SpaceMobile banal was up 83% twelvemonth to day (YTD), Planet Labs banal was up 161% YTD, Rocket Lab banal was up 112% YTD, and Virgin Galactic banal was up 41% YTD. That benignant of tally sets the signifier for a convulsive unwind erstwhile a assemblage catalyst breaks the incorrect way.

New Glenn Hotfire Explosion Sets the Tone

The catalyst itself is concrete. Blue Origin's New Glenn conveyance suffered an anomaly astatine Launch Complex 36 astatine Cape Canaveral Space Force Station astir 9 p.m. Thursday during a hotfire test, wherever the engines ignite portion the rocket is strapped to the pad. No injuries were reported.

The rocket was preparing for the Leo New Glenn 1 ngo adjacent week, carrying Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) Project Kuiper satellites. The blast besides raises timeline questions for NASA's Artemis program, since the Blue Moon Mark 2 lunar lander was scheduled to motorboat connected New Glenn adjacent year.

Founder Jeff Bezos addressed the nonaccomplishment directly, stating, "Very unsmooth day, but we'll rebuild immoderate needs rebuilding and get backmost to flying. It's worthy it." NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman visited Kennedy Space Center today, signaling that national scrutiny volition beryllium heavy.

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