Rocket Lab to acquire Iridium Communications in an $8 billion deal, combining launch capabilities with global satellite network

On this Iridium deal and RKLB's next launch

The distance that SpaceX and Rocket Lab are putting between themselves and rivals is starting to look insurmountable. Rocket Lab still needs Neutron to fly and fly often and this is no small feat.

But these two companies have put together so many pieces and remain the only ones that can launch faster than everyone else after ALL these years. They have just figured things out that others can't.

Rocket Lab is so valuable now that the math gets hard. But it just feels more and more like we head toward some world where it's merged with Blue Origin

On Aug 25, 2021 RocketLab SPAC'd at a $4.1b valuation

It stayed at or below that price in the public markets for 3 years until Sep 2024 when it started to both grow revenue & get re-rated

Now it's acquiring Iridium for $8b!!

God damn. The value of perseverance and being public

Rocket Lab is buying Iridium, which holds massive spectrum and 66 satellites in orbit. Originally, the Iridium constellation had 77 satellites, which is the atomic number for Iridium. When it was reduced to 66 satellites, they failed to change the name to Dysprosium, which is atomic number 66. I guess the marketing department nixed that name!

@ashleevance I wrote a couple of years ago that Jeff should buy Rocket Lab so that Sir Pete could become CEO of Blue Origin. With that said I do think Dave Limp has been a good choice to run the company. He's moving things forward.

@ashleevance I can picture many of my RL Investor friends reading this with a smile on their face; then their expression dropping completely upon reading the final sentence (where it's merged with Blue Origin) 😂

@ashleevance Time for another book @ashleevance

"When the Heavens went on a shopping spree"

@ashleevance Wash your mouth out with soap! There will NEVER be a BO and $RKLB merger.

@JacobKeeton20 @mottbox_ need very big rocket

Neutron development seems to be drastically behind, the propulsion is pretty ordinary, and carbon composite seems to be the wrong choice. also BO should be counted out. Even if not as cost performant as F9, New Glenn will eat everybody else’s lunch. Rocket lab have their work cut out..

@raghavrmehta @ashleevance Literally just hard assets. It would be on the cheap IMO.

Blue origin may find themselves needing Rocketlab but not the other way around.

@mottbox_ @ashleevance Exactly... Cmon Ashlee

@3Dprintsrockets @ashleevance it is inevitable and anyone not doing it will either be subsidized to exist or simply die out

@ashleevance And it was your book that illuminated this opportunity for many of us. Thank you!

@gregor166769112 @ashleevance lol

@ashleevance Everything was so beautiful in this post Ashlee up until the last sentence - absolutely no no no no no!!!

@mottbox_ @ashleevance This exactly

I dug into the deal a little. Iridium has 66 Sats w/spares completed in 2019, 2.5M customers, $872M revenue.

Spectrum might be worth up to $3B.

Rocket lab currently can’t launch spares, but their neutron could.

Grok’s guess, 80 to 120 Sats, 4-5M subscribers in 5 years. They have a $110M/yr contract voice/data with US Gov/defense. And I don’t think they will lose it.

@ashleevance > The distance that SpaceX and Rocket Lab are putting between themselves and rivals is starting to look insurmountable

the distance between spacex and rocket lab is also starting to look insurmountable

@SpaceInvestor_D @ashleevance My next Strategy!!

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@ashleevance Who buys who at this point?