Delta cuts guidance on fuel costs as Microsoft challenges H-1B limits

NASA on Friday issued a final request for proposals to develop commercial space stations that could replace the International Space Station, advancing plans to shift low Earth orbit operations to private companies while maintaining a continuous U.S. presence in space. Proposals are due Dec. 8, with contract awards expected in spring 2027, and NASA plans to select at least two contractors for initial development before holding a subsequent competition for final design, testing, certification and operational services. The agency intends to award multiple firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contracts covering development, certification and operation of the stations, seeking companies able to provide integrated destinations and transportation services for astronauts conducting research and technology development in low Earth orbit. Publicly traded aerospace companies with potential exposure include Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman and Redwire, while private firms Axiom Space, Vast and Starlab Space are also pursuing commercial orbital destinations. NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman emphasized that commercial operators will need business models extending beyond government contracts, saying the opportunity is significant but the economics ultimately have to work.

Morgan Stanley raised its price target on SpaceX shares to $300 with a buy rating, sending SpaceX stock up nearly 8% on Monday, October 5, touching its highest level since mid-June and pushing Elon Musk's wealth back to $1 trillion. The new target is roughly 75% above Monday's closing price of $171.09. Analysts said the stock still looks cheap relative to its current price, supported by the launch of new AI products, progress on the Starship program, and Neocloud service contracts. The target increase follows several key SpaceX milestones, including last week's Starship rocket launch, a NASA astronaut mission to the International Space Station, and the delivery of Google AI chips into orbit. Analysts recommended that investors buy ahead of the next Starship rocket test and before third-quarter earnings, expected in late October, noting that if SpaceX succeeds in testing a robotic arm to catch the Starship upper stage as it returns to the launch pad, it could be the most significant catalyst since the IPO. SpaceX's AI business remains another driver, after its acquisition of Musk's xAI last year and its additional purchase of Cursor, with SpaceX able to generate revenue by renting computing capacity to companies such as Google and Anthropic.

SpaceX launched four astronauts to the International Space Station on Thursday aboard a Crew Dragon capsule, marking the company's 13th crew rotation mission for NASA. The crew, consisting of two Americans, one Canadian, and one Russian cosmonaut, lifted off from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral, Florida, on a Falcon 9 rocket. According to Bloomberg space correspondent Lauren Grush, the mission comes amid speculation that SpaceX may retire the Crew Dragon once the ISS program ends, with only four more crew rotation missions currently scheduled. The crew will spend roughly a week aboard the station before the previous Crew 12 team returns to Earth following a handover. Three of the four astronauts on this flight are first-time flyers.

Boeing and NASA are in discussions to expand the Starliner vehicle's flight manifest by 10 or more future missions, according to reports from The Wall Street Journal. The potential expanded operational mandate comes as NASA prepares for sustained low Earth orbit objectives, offering Boeing a vital opportunity to stabilize its Defense, Space & Security segment. Boeing's Space segment recorded $7.5 billion in Q2 2026 revenue, up 13% year-over-year, despite a small operating loss of $15 million, and the company carries a $715 billion total corporate backlog along with $20.0 billion in cash and short-term investments. Any Starliner expansion directly affects the competitive landscape for private launch leaders like Space Exploration Technologies Corp., which delivered 55% sequential growth in Space segment revenues to $962 million in Q2 2026 while executing 78 launches. Boeing's Defense, Space & Security posted a negative 0.2% operating margin in Q2 2026, dragged down by fixed-price program cost overruns including a $280 million charge on the VC-25B, and the company holds $45.9 billion in consolidated debt.

NASA and Boeing are in talks about using Boeing's Starliner vehicle to handle 10 or more new flights to low-Earth orbit in the coming years, The Wall Street Journal reported Friday. The Starliner has not flown since summer 2024, when performance problems including failed thrusters that posed safety risks left two astronauts stuck on the International Space Station for months; the astronauts returned to Earth on SpaceX's Crew Dragon vehicle, and the Starliner came back empty. SpaceX's Crew Dragon has been the only certified vehicle to carry NASA astronauts to the space station from the U.S., but SpaceX has stopped making new Dragon ships and has not said publicly when it plans to stop operating the ship. NASA said Friday it awarded SpaceX three additional astronaut missions to the space station using Crew Dragon, flights worth an average of $315M each and running through 2030. Few other options exist for flights to low-Earth orbit: Northrop Grumman has a cargo capsule that flies to the space station for NASA but not a human-rated one, while Russia flies vehicles to the ISS that handle crews and cargo.