Rocket Lab (RKLB) announced a $275 million deal last week to acquire Geost, a Tucson-based manufacturer of electro-optical and infrared (EO/IR) payloads used in national security satellites.
The purchase price includes $125 million in cash and $150 million in Rocket Lab stock, with another $50 million in potential earnout payments tied to revenue goals.
The deal is expected to close in the second half of the year.
Rocket Lab will take over Geost’s manufacturing facilities and labs in Arizona and northern Virginia, positioning itself as a vertically integrated provider of complete spacecraft systems.
The move marks Rocket Lab’s official entry into the satellite payload market, and the company isn’t being subtle about its ambitions.
“We’re cementing Rocket Lab as a disruptor in national security space,” the company said in the announcement.
RockeLab CEO Peter Beck called the acquisition a strategic leap toward delivering “secure, responsive, and cost-effective systems at scale.”
“With the acquisition of Geost, we’re bringing advanced EO/IR payloads in-house to support mission-critical systems,” he said.
Potential Golden Dome winner?
Geost specializes in sensor systems used for missile tracking, tactical surveillance, Earth observation, and space domain awareness.
These technologies could potentially support President Trump’s proposed $175 billion Golden Dome missile defense initiative.
Rocket Lab said Geost’s systems will help warfighters “execute with speed and precision in increasingly contested space environments.”
The Geost deal is already making waves on Wall Street.
Stifel lifted its price target for RKLB from $29 to $34, noting the acquisition opens a new business category and expands Rocket Lab’s revenue streams.
But it’s not the company’s only win this month.
Rocket Lab also secured a new NASA contract to launch the Aspera mission, aimed at studying galactic evolution. The company has worked with NASA on several past projects, including the CAPSTONE mission to the Moon.
On June 3, Rocket Lab will launch the next batch of BlackSky’s Gen-3 satellites from its Electron rocket.
The mission — its 10th with BlackSky — will deliver high-res imagery and AI-driven analytics for real-time intelligence.
Rocket Lab stock is up 8.9% year-to-date and 564% over the past 12 months.
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