Rocket Lab Positions Itself As Disruptive Prime To U.S.
National Security
LONG BEACH, Calif.–(BUSINESS
WIRE)–Rocket Lab Corporation (Nasdaq: RKLB) (“Rocket
Lab” or the “Company”), a global leader in launch
services and space systems, announced the signing of a
definitive agreement to acquire the parent holding company
of Geost, LLC (“Geost”), a Tucson, Arizona-based
electro-optical and infrared (EO/IR) payload development and
manufacturing company and provider to high-priority national
security satellites, from Lightridge Solutions, a portfolio
company of ATL Partners, for $275 million in a mix of $125
million of cash and $150 million in privately placed shares
of Rocket Lab common stock, plus up to $50 million in
potential additional cash earnout payments tied to revenue
targets. The acquisition marks Rocket Lab’s formal entry
into the satellite payload segment, strengthening the
Company’s position as a provider of end-to-end national
security space solutions. The acquisition is expected to
close in the second half of 2025.
The
acquisition marks Rocket Lab’s formal entry into the
satellite payload segment, strengthening the Company’s
position as a provider of end-to-end national security space
solutions.
With more than 20 years of
flight heritage across classified and unclassified missions,
Geost delivers advanced EO/IR sensor systems for missile
warning and tracking, tactical intelligence, surveillance,
and reconnaissance, Earth observation, and space domain
awareness—core capabilities for achieving the U.S.
Department of Defense’s goals for resilient, proliferated
space architectures, like the proposed Golden Dome
architecture and the Space Development Agency’s Tracking
Layer.
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By bringing these mission critical payloads
in-house, Rocket Lab enhances its ability to rapidly deliver
integrated spacecraft systems purpose-built for U.S.
national security, while reducing integration risk, reducing
costs, and accelerating timelines. Geost’s full suite of
sensing solutions enables warfighters and mission operators
to protect, defend, and execute with speed and precision in
increasingly contested space environments.
The
acquisition adds Optical Systems as a new category within
Rocket Lab’s deep portfolio of capabilities, cementing the
Company’s role as a disruptor in national security
space.
Rocket Lab founder and CEO, Sir Peter Beck,
says: “Rocket Lab was founded to disrupt the traditional
space industry and we’re doing just that by expanding our
ability to deliver complete, mission-critical space
solutions. With the acquisition of Geost, we’re bringing
advanced electro-optical and infrared payloads in-house to
support secure, responsive, and cost-effective systems at
scale. These technologies enable spacecraft that can detect,
interpret, and respond to threats in real time, enhancing
our role as a trusted provider of end-to-end space
capabilities for the United States and its allies—with
greater speed, intelligence, and operational
control.”
Bill Gattle, Geost’s General Manager and
CEO of Lightridge Solutions, adds: “Integrating Geost’s
advanced optical capabilities is a natural next step for
Rocket Lab as the company expands its end-to-end space
systems. By bringing high-performance optical technologies
in-house, Rocket Lab is strengthening its ability to deliver
responsive, full-stack solutions for government and
commercial missions. Backed by the infrastructure to produce
these systems at scale, Rocket Lab is well-positioned to
meet accelerating demand for high-performance space
solutions. The addition of payloads to its vertically
integrated portfolio not only expands mission capability but
also elevates Rocket Lab’s standing as a leading
end-to-end space systems provider.”
In acquiring
Geost, Rocket Lab will gain the company’s extensive
product assets and manufacturing facilities and laboratories
across Tucson and northern Virginia, intellectual property,
and product inventory. The addition of Geost’s 115 highly
trained professionals will bring Rocket Lab’s total
headcount to more than 2,600 employees across its space
manufacturing complexes, test facilities, and launch sites
in California, Virginia, Colorado, Maryland, New Mexico,
Toronto, New Zealand, and now Tucson.
Rocket Lab will
host a conference call for investors at 2:00 p.m. PST (5:00
p.m. EST) today to discuss the agreement. The live webcast
and a replay of the webcast will be available on Rocket
Lab’s Investor Relations website: https://investors.rocketlabusa.com/
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About Rocket Lab
Founded in 2006, Rocket Lab is an
end-to-end space company with an established track record of
mission success. We deliver reliable launch services,
satellite manufacture, spacecraft components, and on-orbit
management solutions that make it faster, easier, and more
affordable to access space. Headquartered in Long Beach,
California, Rocket Lab designs and manufactures the Electron
small orbital launch vehicle, the HASTE suborbital launch
vehicle for hypersonic tests, a family of flight proven
spacecraft, and the larger Neutron launch vehicle for
constellation deployment. Since its first orbital launch in
January 2018, Rocket Lab’s Electron launch vehicle has
become the second most frequently launched U.S. rocket
annually. Rocket Lab has deployed 200+ payloads from its
launch sites in the United States and New Zealand for
private and public sector organizations, enabling operations
in national security, scientific research, space debris
mitigation, Earth observation, climate monitoring, and
communications. Rocket Lab’s family of spacecraft have
been selected to support NASA missions to the Moon and Mars,
as well as the first private commercial mission to Venus.
Rocket Lab has three launch pads at two launch sites,
including two launch pads at a private orbital launch site
located in New Zealand and a third launch pad in Virginia.
To learn more, visit www.rocketlabusa.com.
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About Geost
Founded in 2004, Geost, LLC, a LightRidge
Solutions Company and portfolio company of ATL Partners, is
a rapidly growing producer of affordable high-performance
optical systems for critical national security space
missions. The company has served its core National Security
Space customer base since its founding and employs over 100
high performing professionals. For more information on Geost
visit: https://www.geost.com.
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About ATL Partners:
Founded in 2014, ATL Partners is
a premier sector-focused private equity firm that invests in
commercial aerospace, national security, and transportation
& logistics companies. ATL brings deep sector expertise
to its investment approach with experienced investment
professionals and strong operating executives who have
decades of combined experience in each of ATL’s core
sectors. For more information about ATL Partners, visit https://www.atlpartners.com.