Rocket Lab to buy satellite communications firm Iridium

WASHINGTON ― Rocket Lab is set to acquire satellite communications (SATCOM) provider Iridium — a move that tops off a five-year buying spree designed to vertically integrate the company into a full-service space-defense provider. The transaction will give Rocket Lab an immediate foothold in space-based applications, and will help it realize its long-term strategic vision to expand beyond launch services and spacecraft manufacturing into a company with recurring revenue from satellite services, according to a joint Rocket Lab-Iridium statement issued today. “By marrying Iridium’s deep heritage, trusted infrastructure, and highly sought-after spectrum with Rocket Lab’s extensive and proven launch and manufacturing capabilities, we have the capability to unlock entirely new markets,” Rocket Lab’s founder and CEO Sir Peter Beck said in the joint statement. A Rocket Lab spokesperson told Breaking Defense today in an email that the deal “accelerates Rocket Lab’s entry into space applications and ‘space as a service.'” “With this acquisition we expect to have the ability to respond to any and all market demands and directions,” the Rocket Lab spokesperson said. “Vertical integration is at the heart of this combination — the ability to build, launch, and operate our own spacecraft quickly and cost-effectively.” Among the space applications Rocket Lab intends to provide following the Iridum buy, according to the joint statement, are space-based internet access, direct-to-device connectivity, and position, navigation and timing (PNT) capabilities that do not rely on GPS or similar constellations vulnerable to jamming ― all of which have attracted the interest of the US Space Force and its sister military services. The Rocket Lab spokesperson said the company’s planned Neutron heavy lift vehicle, set to launch late this year after about a two-year delay, “is the ideal vehicle for replenishment, plus deployment of new constellations,” while its work-horse medium lift Electron rocket “is perfectly suited to launching smaller technology demonstrators to enable rapid iteration.” Lockheed Martin’s ACES platform delivers a shared virtual battlespace that strengthens readiness, interoperability, and faster decision-making through advanced, integrated modeling and simulation capabilities designed for evolving global threats. Rocket Lab was founded as a launch company in 2026 in New Zealand and incorporated in the US in 2013 with an eye to the US defense market. Since 2020, the company has been assiduously buying up firms with an array of space-related capabilities to forward its vertical integration. These include: satellite hardware-maker Sinclair Interplanetary in April 2020; space guidance, navigation and control system developer Advanced Solutions in October 2021; maker of satellite separation systems Planetary Systems Corp in December 2021; space solar panel manufacturer Solaero in January 2022; missile warning sensor developer GEOST in August 2025; optical in…