[REVISION HISTORY]

Rocket Lab expands US Space Force contracts and Iridium deal

Updated 7 times since CLSTR started tracking revisions of this situation.

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2026-08-27 04:35 UTC → 2026-08-31 07:52 UTC · added ~~removed~~

In late July 2026, Rocket Lab secured a $266 million U.S. Space Force contract for up to 18 sub-orbital launches to support missile-defence and hypersonic testing, adding a fourth launch site at the Pacific Spaceport Complex-Alaska. The deal, the largest in the company’s history, was announced alongside plans to acquire Iridium Communications, a move projected to generate about $1.8 billion in revenue by 2026 and to combine launch capability with Iridium’s satellite-communications network. Further developments in August reinforced Rocket Lab’s expanding role in U.S. defense. On August 5, the firm won a $397 million Space Force contract to design, launch, and operate a constellation of Flatellite surveillance satellites on its forthcoming Neutron launch vehicle. On August 17, Rocket Lab was selected for the U.S. Space Force’s $981 million NITE-STAR program, an indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity contract focused on developing distributed test and operational training infrastructure for contested space environments. Following this, on August 20, it was revealed that Viasat selected Rocket Lab to build a satellite bus for the Protected Tactical SATCOM-Global (PTS-G) program. By late August, Rocket Lab reported second-quarter revenue of $234 million, a 62% year-over-year increase, and a record backlog of approximately $2.36 billion, representing a 137% year-over-year growth. To fund expansion and the Iridium acquisition—which cleared a major regulatory hurdle following the expiration of the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act waiting period—the company initiated an at-the-market equity program of up to $1.94 billion. Concurrently, the company is advancing development of its Neutron medium-lift rocket, including mechanical testing of its ‘Hungry Hippo’ fairing mechanism. In late August, the company secured an additional $90 million contract from the Space Systems Command to build and operate two geostationary satellites for space domain awareness.

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