Rocket Lab to acquire Iridium for 8 billion to challenge SpaceX Starlink
Rocket Lab $RKLB is buying satellite operator Iridium $IRDM for $8 billion to put a 66-satellite network and global spectrum behind its rockets. It is the clearest bid yet to copy the SpaceX model of owning both launch and the constellation. Deal expected to close mid-2027.
Rocket Lab $RKLB has agreed to buy satellite operator Iridium $IRDM for about $8 billion in cash and stock, paying roughly $54 a share, a premium of around 24% over where Iridium last traded. The deal hands Rocket Lab control of Iridium's 66-satellite low-Earth orbit network, its globally licensed L-band spectrum, and a customer base of more than 2.5 million subscribers across government, defense, aviation and maritime markets. For a company best known for launching rockets, this is a jump into owning the satellites and the recurring revenue that flows from them. The logic mirrors what made SpaceX and its Starlink unit so hard to challenge: control the launch vehicle and the constellation it carries, and you remove the three slowest hurdles in satellite communications, securing spectrum, deploying infrastructure before any revenue arrives, and building a paying customer base over years. By acquiring Iridium, Rocket Lab buys all three at once rather than building them. The companies expect the transaction to close in mid-2027, pending Iridium shareholder and regulatory approval. Investors reacted fast, with Iridium shares climbing about 25% and Rocket Lab rising roughly 16% after the announcement. The deal signals that the space-communications market is consolidating into a small number of vertically integrated players who both launch and operate their own networks.