Rocket Lab CEO: $8B Iridium Deal Not a Starlink Rival, New Services to Launch

Rocket Lab Corporation CEO Peter Beck said the company's acquisition of Iridium Communications Inc. will help the Space Exploration Technologies Corp. rival expand its satellite communications business.

Peter Beck Backs Iridium Deal

In a CNN interview on Wednesday, Beck said the planned $8 billion Iridium acquisition will help Rocket Lab provide "the life-saving and critical services Iridium has successfully delivered," adding that the company does not intend to "directly compete" with satellite-based internet services such as Elon Musk's Starlink or Amazon.com Inc.'s Leo.

"Our intent is clearly to expand the constellation, but not to directly compete with internet services," Beck said, calling it a "well-served" market. He also outlined defense opportunities from the acquisition and praised the importance of Iridium's spectrum.

"You can have all the ambition in the world, but if you don't have spectrum, you can't actually deliver those services," he said. Beck praised Iridium's L-band spectrum, which, unlike traditional broadband spectrum, can penetrate severe weather and buildings.

Beck then said that over time, as Rocket Lab increases launch cadence and its ability to expand the constellation, it can "increase the coverage of these services and deliver novel and unique things never seen before."

Beck also outlined the advantages of owning a low-Earth orbit constellation, as it could enable nations to replace damaged satellites within hours.

Rocket Lab Wins Defense Contract

The news comes as Rocket Lab was selected for the U.S. Space Force's NITE-STAR program, a $981 million contract framework supporting space testing and training infrastructure. Other participating companies in the program include Firefly Aerospace Inc., L3Harris Technologies Inc., Lockheed Martin Corp., and others.

Price action: RKLB shares fell 0.12% to $75.75 in Thursday pre-market trading.