$RKLB
Rocket Lab is done being just a launch company — it's buying its way into space infrastructure.
→
The move: on June 29, Rocket Lab agreed to acquire Iridium ($IRDM), a global satellite-comms operator, for $8B in cash and stock. Expected to close by mid-2027.
The logic: launch + a working global satellite network, under one roof — vertical integration the rest of the sector is still talking about.
The tailwind: NASA just tapped Electron for two 2027 science missions (PolSIR, TSIS-2), and SpaceX joins the Nasdaq 100 on July 7 — the whole space complex is getting bid.
Launch was the entry ticket. Owning the network is the business.
Not investment advice.