Rocket Lab has agreed to acquire Iridium in a deal worth approximately $8 billion, creating one of America's largest full-cycle space companies, with its own manufacturing and launches.
The boards of directors of both companies unanimously approved the deal, which is expected to close in mid-2027 after receiving approvals from shareholders and regulators, TechRadar reports .
The purchase gives Rocket Lab access to the Iridium low-orbit satellite constellation, globally coordinated L-band frequencies, and over 500 partners worldwide.
Iridium currently serves more than 2.55 million subscribers, providing satellite communications, navigation, and emergency connectivity services to both the commercial and government sectors.
At the same time, Rocket Lab already independently manufactures satellites and launch vehicles, and is also developing a new Neutron rocket for missions to deploy large satellite constellations.
Thus, the combined company will develop satellites, build spacecraft, launch payloads, and manage communications networks using exclusively its own resources.
Rocket Lab is confident that eliminating third-party launch service providers will reduce deployment costs and ensure orbit delivery as demand for launches grows.
In 2025, Iridium's revenue amounted to $871.7 million, while operating EBITDA amounted to approximately $495 million, and the margin reached 57%.
To finance the deal, Rocket Lab raised $3.6 billion in short-term loan commitments through Deutsche Bank and Wells Fargo.
The companies expect regulatory reviews and shareholder approvals to continue until the final closing of the deal, which is scheduled for mid-2027.
“This is a defining moment for the space industry and the beginning of a new era of strategic and accelerated growth for both Rocket Lab and Iridium,” said Sir Peter Beck, founder and CEO of Rocket Lab. “Iridium has created the gold standard in secure, safety-critical global satellite communications.”
Iridium direct-to-device technology, operating under the Iridium NTN Direct brand, is designed to ensure national security in blocked, damaged or compromised network environments.
From now on, Rocket Lab's activities will encompass spacecraft production, launch, radio spectrum, and orbital communications within a single proprietary network structure.
Unlike many other telecommunications operators, Rocket Lab will also have the ability to quickly restore damaged satellite constellations using its own launch vehicles.
This makes the company the most structurally complete competitor to SpaceX's Starlink ecosystem that the commercial space industry has ever seen.
“As the worlds of space and terrestrial communications continue to converge, more and more critical services will rely on space-based capabilities,” said Matt Dash, CEO of Iridium. “Success will come to those who can rapidly deploy new innovations in space and sustain them over time as efficiently as possible. We are excited to accelerate the development of the next generation of technologies for IoT, aviation, maritime, PNT, and national security.”
Starlink acted as a de facto frontline internet for Ukraine, enabling the coordination of drone strikes, troop movements, and real-time intelligence sharing.
The Iridium network is already capable of operating where GPS signals are actively jammed or completely absent, which accurately describes the conditions on the eastern front line in Ukraine.
Iridium NTN Direct technology, once fully deployed, could provide Ukraine with a sustainable, independent level of communications that would be outside the direct control of Elon Musk.
