Rocket Lab to Enter Payload Business with Acquisition of Geost
Would Create an Entirely New Category for the Company
A definitive agreement has been signed that would lead to the acquisition of the parent holding company of payload supplier Geost by Rocket Lab, a move that would place the Rocket Lab into the national security payload business.
"These technologies enable spacecraft that can detect, interpret, and respond to threats in real time."
Sir Peter Beck, Rocket Lab
Geost is a Tucson, Arizona-based electro-optical and infrared (EO/IR) payload development and manufacturing company and provider to high-priority national security satellites. The company is an operating unit of LightRidge Solutions, a portfolio company of ATL Partners. Under the agreement, Rocket Lab would acquire Geost for $275 million in a mix of $125 million of cash and $150 million in privately placed shares of Rocket Lab common stock, plus up to $50 million in potential additional cash earnout payments tied to revenue targets.
The acquisition marks Rocket Lab’s formal entry into the satellite payload segment, strengthening the Company’s position as a provider of end-to-end national security space solutions. It is expected to close in the second half of 2025.
Geost delivers advanced EO/IR sensor systems for missile warning and tracking, tactical intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance, Earth observation, and space domain awareness—core capabilities for achieving the U.S. Department of Defense’s goals for resilient, proliferated space architectures, like the proposed Golden Dome architecture and the Space Development Agency’s Tracking Layer.
By bringing these mission critical payloads in-house, Rocket Lab enhances its ability to rapidly deliver integrated spacecraft systems purpose-built for U.S. national security, while reducing integration risk, reducing costs, and accelerating timelines. Geost’s full suite of sensing solutions enables warfighters and mission operators to protect, defend, and execute with speed and precision in increasingly contested space environments.
The acquisition adds Optical Systems as a new category within Rocket Lab’s deep portfolio of capabilities, cementing the Company’s role as a disruptor in national security space.
“With the acquisition of Geost, we’re bringing advanced electro-optical and infrared payloads in-house to support secure, responsive, and cost-effective systems at scale," said Sir Peter Beck, Rocket Lab founder and CEO. "These technologies enable spacecraft that can detect, interpret, and respond to threats in real time, enhancing our role as a trusted provider of end-to-end space capabilities for the United States and its allies—with greater speed, intelligence, and operational control.”
“Integrating Geost’s advanced optical capabilities is a natural next step for Rocket Lab as the company expands its end-to-end space systems," said Bill Gattle, Geost’s General Manager and CEO of LightRidge Solutions. "By bringing high-performance optical technologies in-house, Rocket Lab is strengthening its ability to deliver responsive, full-stack solutions for government and commercial missions. Backed by the infrastructure to produce these systems at scale, Rocket Lab is well-positioned to meet accelerating demand for high-performance space solutions. The addition of payloads to its vertically integrated portfolio not only expands mission capability but also elevates Rocket Lab’s standing as a leading end-to-end space systems provider.”
In acquiring Geost, Rocket Lab will gain the company’s extensive product assets and manufacturing facilities and laboratories across Tucson and northern Virginia, intellectual property, and product inventory. The addition of Geost’s 115 employees will bring Rocket Lab’s total headcount to more than 2,600 employees across its space manufacturing complexes, test facilities, and launch sites in California, Virginia, Colorado, Maryland, New Mexico, Toronto, New Zealand, and now Tucson.