Rocket Lab says it has acquired a company capable of constructing US President Donald Trump’s Golden Dome missile defence system in a move that positions it as a contender to build the massive space shield.
The California-based firm has signed up to buy the parent holding company of Goest, a developer of electro-optical and infrared technology used in missile warning and tracking, for around NZ$460 million.
These were “core capabilities” for the likes of the Pentagon’s proposed constellation of low-orbit satellites, as well as for the Dome, the company said.
The Golden Dome is a multi-layer defence system proposed by the United States intended to detect and destroy foreign threats, including ballistic, hypersonic, and cruise missiles, even nuclear warheads.
It consisted of a global constellation of satellites and would mark the first time weapons had been maintained in orbit.
Trump put the cost of the project at NZ$300 billion last week but many analysts said it would cost much more than that, closer to NZ$1 trillion.
Rocket Lab chief executive Sir Peter Beck said the company was founded to “disrupt the traditional space industry” and that the acquisition enhanced its ability to “rapidly deliver integrated spacecraft systems built for US national security”.
“We’re bringing advanced electro-optical and infrared payloads in-house to support secure, responsive, and cost-effective systems at scale.
“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.”
Rocket Lab was founded by Beck in Auckland in 2006.
Early speculation held that Elon Musk’s SpaceX would be a frontrunner to develop the Golden Dome but L3Harris Technologies, Lockheed Martin, and RTX Corp, have also been cited as potential contractors for the massive project.
The acquisition, to be settled later this year, would take Rocket Lab’s staff numbers to 2600 in factories and at test and launch sites in New Zealand, California, Virginia, Colorado, Maryland, New Mexico, Toronto and Arizona.