Rocket Lab’s Iridium Deal Shows Huge Ambition

Over the last few years, we have seen a number of major acquisitions in the satellite sector, but Rocket Lab’s recently announced acquisition of Iridium hits a little different. It is a major play for a company that has ambitions on becoming one of the biggest space companies.

This ranks among the more significant consolidations the industry has seen and once again forces the question of what a space company will actually look like in the future. The sector is a vibrant one right now and the consolidation in recent years has been accelerating. Space companies are becoming more multi-layered and multi-faceted.

As we head into the fall, a leading conversation amongst the space community is on the issue of sovereign space. It will be a key topic of conversation as we start looking towards SATShow Week 2027. Countries and governments across the world are now seeing the growing value in space assets and gaining ownership of these assets in a way that hasn’t been done before.

The question now is how global space companies adapt as governments increasingly seek sovereignty over their own space assets, and what role, if any, they get to play. It is a fascinating question and one that will be a prominent theme in discussions leading up to SATShow Week.

But greater control over space assets also brings greater responsibility for securing them. That conversation comes into focus this November at the tenth CyberSat Summit.

With less than seven weeks to go, the program is bringing together the government, military and industry leaders confronting these threats directly. Charleen Laughlin of the U.S. Space Force will open the summit, while Lt. Col. Luke Shibilski will share the NRO perspective on defensive cyber operations supporting critical ISR missions.

AI security will also take center stage. Featured keynote Alissa Knight will demonstrate how an autonomous AI agent can target satellite tasking and telemetry APIs, giving attendees a real-world look at how quickly AI-enabled threats are moving from theory to operational risk. OpenAI brings the AI conversation into CyberSat’s Classified Program.

Across the unclassified and classified programs, CyberSat will examine the threats affecting space systems now and how security leaders are preparing for what comes next.

The conversation will continue at SATShow Week 2027, where CyberSat Exchange returns for a focused half-day on critical infrastructure and AI security.

We hope to see you there!

Mark Holmes

Senior Editorial Director

Via Satellite