SpaceX Is Changing: Here's What You Need to Know

In the months since Space Exploration Technologies (NASDAQ: SPCX) went public -- and even before -- barrels of virtual ink have been spilled describing how SpaceX, which began life as a rocket launch company, is leaning ever more toward becoming an artificial intelligence (AI) behemoth.

Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk predicts that, of the company's $28.5 trillion total addressable market, $26.5 trillion will come from selling AI infrastructure, subscriptions, applications, and advertising. But SpaceX's transformation from a space company into primarily an AI company is just one way that SpaceX is changing.

Last week, we learned of three more.

Image source: The Motley Fool.

Fewer rockets, bigger rockets

SpaceX set new record in 2025 by launching 165 orbital missions and conducting five test flights of its Starship megarocket. That was up from 138 total launches in 2024. Curiously, though, that seems to be the high-water mark for SpaceX (at least for now).

In 2026, according to Ars Technica, SpaceX might launch as few as 140 times -- potentially falling below 2024's total. And CNBC reports that SpaceX will slow its launch pace even further in 2027 as it moves forward with plans to slowly retire both the Falcon 9 launch vehicle and its Crew Dragon spacecraft.

That's the bad news.

The good news is that SpaceX expects Starship to take up the slack. With 150 tons of payload to low Earth orbit, each Starship launch will have about six times the payload capacity of a Falcon 9. Meaning, even as SpaceX conducts fewer launches, it should be able to easily put more cargo into orbit with a much bigger rocket.

More satellites, bigger satellites

That's good news for SpaceX investors, and for SpaceX itself -- because as it turns out, Starship is the only launch vehicle big enough to carry full-size Starlink V3 satellites to orbit.

Why is that important?

SpaceX thinks its biggest opportunities lie with AI, but right now, it's the company's Starlink satellite internet service that drives the business. With $13.9 billion in trailing revenue, Starlink -- which SpaceX now calls "Connectivity" -- generated more revenue than the company's Space and AI divisions combined. According to data from S&P Global Market Intelligence, Connectivity is also the only one of SpaceX's three businesses that's making money, earning a $5.3 billion operating profit during the past year.

It makes sense that SpaceX would double down on the business that's working best for it -- so SpaceX is building a Starship capable of putting larger, more robust Starlink satellites into orbit. Each Starlink V3 satellite, says the SpaceX CEO, "will add 1 Tbps of capacity to the constellation" -- so 10 times more bandwidth than the V2 satellites they replace.

Starlink V3 constellation starts being deployed this month. Ultimately, it will deliver more than 100 times the bandwidth of our current 11,000 satellite constellation.

-- Elon Musk (@elonmusk) September 15, 2026

SpaceX has big plans for cellphone service

Ultimately, Elon Musk expects V3 to yield a Starlink constellation with 100 times the bandwidth of today.

That additional bandwidth implies 100 times more business for SpaceX -- 100 times more customers paying for 100 times more service. In dollars and cents, this implies "Connectivity" growing from a $13.9-billion-a-year business to one doing nearly $140 billion in annual revenue. But how will SpaceX make use of all this bandwidth and expand its business so much?

Last week, we got a clue.

That $140 billion is about as much revenue as America's biggest telecom, Verizon (NYSE: VZ), earns today. It's more money than either AT&T (NYSE: T) or Comcast (NASDAQ: CMCSA) make. Not coincidentally, SpaceX is now saying it wants to turn Starlink into "a major mobile carrier in the U.S." that could rival Verizon, AT&T, and Comcast.

And last week, in an $8 billion deal, SpaceX snapped up a batch of cellular spectrum licenses that will help it to do just that -- only days after the Federal Communications Commission approved the company's plan to put 15,000 direct-to-cell communications satellites in orbit.

AI may be SpaceX's biggest bet on the future. In the near term, however, Starlink's prospects are looking even brighter.

Rich Smith has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends Comcast and Verizon Communications. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.