Newly-minted public space company Rocket Lab acquires software firm
By
Ross Wilkers
In the wake of its public listing, launch service provider Rocket Lab closes an acquisition focused on the software aspects of space systems.
In the wake of its public listing, aerospace manufacturer and small satellite launch service provider Rocket Lab has completed an acquisition focused on the software aspects of space systems.
Long Beach, California-headquartered Rocket Lab said Tuesday it has paid $40 million to purchase Advanced Solutions Inc. in a deal that also includes a $5.5 million performance earn-out clause if certain financial milestones are met this year.
Rocket Lab’s stock began trading on the Nasdaq market on Aug. 25 in the wake of its merger with special purpose acquisition company Vector Acquisition Corp., a deal intended to gain nearly $800 million in working capital to develop a new launch vehicle for deploying multi-satellite constellations.
Advanced Solutions Inc. was founded in 1995 and concentrates on mission simulation and test systems and guidance, navigation and control platforms. ASI’s customers include agencies within the Defense Department, Air Force, NASA, other aerospace prime contractors, commercial spacecraft developers and space startups.
The ASI team’s nearly 60 employees will stay in their main hub of Colorado and continue to be led by John Cuseo, CEO and founder.
Rocket Lab was founded in 2006 by New Zealand native Peter Beck, the company’s CEO and chief technology officer. Seven years later, Rocket Lab moved its registration from New Zealand to the Los Angeles region so it could better source investments from U.S. sources and pursue government contracts.
Contracts such as this $24 million award announced in September with Space Force, which will fund Rocket Lab's development of its Neutron launch vehicle and particularly its upper stage. The goal is to get that rocket ready for launches of scientific and experimental satellites to national security payloads.