The Rocket Lab–Iridium acquisition is projected to close in mid-2027, subject to stockholder approval, FCC license transfer consents, and Hart-Scott-Rodino antitrust clearances.
Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP is serving as legal counsel to Iridium on the transaction.
Iridium generated $871.7 million in total revenue in fiscal year 2025.
Iridium operates a LEO satellite constellation supporting more than 2.55 million active subscribers across government, defense, aviation, maritime, and commercial markets.
Deutsche Bank Securities is the lead financial advisor to Rocket Lab on the Iridium acquisition.
The Rocket Lab–Iridium transaction values Iridium at $54.00 per share and approximately $8.0 billion in aggregate enterprise value.
The boards of both companies unanimously approved the Rocket Lab-Iridium transaction.
Rocket Lab has secured commitments for a $3.6 billion 364-day senior secured bridge term loan facility from Deutsche Bank and Wells Fargo to fund the cash component of the Iridium acquisition.
Iridium’s asset base includes a dedicated positioning, navigation, and timing layer that can serve as an alternative encryption-safe PNT reference when GPS or GNSS signals are jammed, degraded, or unavailable.
Amazon, Iridium, Telesat, and Globalstar formed the SpaceConnect Association.
Iridium’s engineering and support revenue for government operations rose 10% in the first quarter of 2026 to nearly $39.5 million.
Iridium’s commercial IoT data services rose 5% in the first quarter of 2026.
Candace Johnson played a key role in the development of Iridium and International Launch Services.
Iridium’s first-quarter 2026 government operations revenue was bolstered by ongoing work with the Space Development Agency.
Amazon Leo, Eutelsat, Iridium, and SpaceX signed the Orbital Safety Best Practices for Satellite Operators version 3.0.
Amazon Leo, Eutelsat, Iridium, and SpaceX are signatories to version 3.0 of the "Orbital Safety Best Practices for Satellite Operators" document.
Iridium’s space-based VHF communications technology is designed to let air traffic controllers communicate directly with pilots over oceanic and remote regions using standard 117.975–137 MHz VHF radios without new avionics or flight deck modifications.
Iridium will assume approximately $155 million in Aireon debt upon closing.
Iridium will pay $366.7 million to buy the remaining 61% stake in Aireon from five air navigation service providers.
Aireon has operated its Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast payload on Iridium satellites since at least 2019.