'The start of a new era': Rocket Lab buying satellite-communications company Iridium for $8 billion

California-based launch company Rocket Lab has inked a landmark $8 billion deal to acquire long-time satellite communications giant Iridium. Rocket Lab has brought a variety of companies into its space systems architecture in recent years, but none of those previous purchases were as notable as the acquisition announced today (June 29). Rocket Lab and Iridium settled on the purchase at $54 per share, equating to an $8 billion deal for the legacy satellite operator. "This is a defining moment for the space industry and the start of a new era of strategic, accelerated growth for Rocket Lab and Iridium," Rocket Lab CEO Peter Beck said in a statement . The merger folds another area of expertise into Rocket Lab's growing, vertically integrated operations and creates a stream of continued revenue from Iridium's existing subscribers. Iridium is a Virginia-based communications company that operates a constellation of L-band satellites in low Earth orbit (LEO) that provide a global network of voice, Internet of Things, aviation, maritime, defense and emergency communications services to more than 2.5 million customers. It was founded by Motorola, via the company's efforts in the 1980s to establish a handheld global satellite phone network. Iridium operated one of the first large commercial LEO constellations, but the success didn't last; the company went bankrupt in 1999. …