RKLB
VSAT
New orbit, same old defense money
Viasat is giving its Space Force program a hardware sidekick: Rocket Lab. The company said Monday it selected RKLB to build a geosynchronous Earth orbit satellite bus for the Protected Tactical SATCOM-Global program, a mouthful of government-speak that basically translates to “secure communications in very unfriendly places.”
Why investors are paying attention
This isn’t just a corporate handshake photo op. The satellite will carry Viasat’s dual-band X/Ka-band payload and help deliver anti-jam communications for U.S. and allied forces. In other words, this is the kind of defense contract Wall Street loves: sticky, technical, and not exactly easy for competitors to waltz into.
The money trail
The Space Force already awarded Viasat the prime contract on May 22, and the initial Swarm 1 award includes:
- manufacturing
- integration and testing
- launch and on-orbit checkout
- five years of satellite operations and sustainment
That long tail matters. It means this is not a one-and-done order; it’s a multi-year relationship with recurring work baked in.
Big picture
Viasat shares are still riding a monster run, and news like this helps explain why. If the company keeps turning defense contracts into actual build-and-run programs, the market may keep treating VSAT less like a sleepy telecom name and more like a mission-critical space player.