Rocket Lab will acquire satellite communications company Iridium in a deal valued at about US$8 billion (NZ$14.2b), with the aim of transforming the company, while taking on SpaceX and its Starlink service.

A new American vertical launcher-operator is formed by merging a former “big four” satellite operator with a commercial launcher building a competitor to SpaceX's Falcon 9

June 29 : Rocket Lab said on Monday it would acquire satellite communications provider Iridium Communications in a cash-and-stock deal valued at about $8 billion, marking one of…

This could eat into SpaceX's end-to-end space biz.