[[Home|🏠]] <span style="color: LightSlateGray">></span> [[Partners]] <span style="color: LightSlateGray">></span> Geost
**Website**: https://rocketlabcorp.com/space-systems/payloads/
**Acquired**: August 12 2025
**Cost**: $125 million cash + $150 million in privately placed shares of Rocket Lab common stock
## Summary
Geost (now part of Rocket Lab’s Optical Systems portfolio) is a U.S. developer of space-qualified electro-optical (EO) and infrared (IR) payloads used for missile warning/tracking, space domain awareness (SDA), and ISR missions. Rocket Lab markets Geost-derived payload families such as Heimdall (SDA), Phoenix (EO/ISR), and Starlite (IR) as modular sensing options for national security space architectures. Geost’s earlier product line included Mercury for missile warning/tracking; the technology and heritage behind these sensors has been selected for SDA Tracking Layer work (e.g., via Sierra Space for Tranche 2). Rocket Lab completed its acquisition of Geost on August 12, 2025, adding in-house EO/IR payload capability alongside launch and spacecraft manufacturing to support vertically integrated national security missions.
![[Pasted image 20251228152608.png]]
## Acquisition
Rocket Lab **announced** it had entered into a definitive agreement to acquire the **parent holding company of Geost, LLC** on **May 27, 2025**, buying the business from [**LightRidge Solutions**](https://www.lightridgesolutions.com/) (a portfolio company of **ATL Partners**). The transaction **closed on August 12, 2025**, formally adding **Optical Systems** (EO/IR payloads) to Rocket Lab’s space-systems portfolio.
### Timeline
* **May 27, 2025** - Deal announced (agreement signed May 22, 2025).
* **August 12, 2025** - Deal closed.
### Deal terms (consideration + earnout)
* **Base purchase price:** **$275M** (before customary closing adjustments).
* **Paid at closing:** **$125M cash** + **3,057,588 shares** of Rocket Lab common stock.
* **Contingent earnout:** up to **$50M** in additional **cash** tied to revenue targets (described as revenue targets for **2026 and 2027** in the purchase agreement summary).
* **Equity mechanics:** the stock portion was described as **privately placed** / issued in an unregistered transaction, with Rocket Lab agreeing to file a **resale registration statement** for the shares after closing.
đź”— [SEC Filing](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1819994/000162828025027920/rklb-20250522.htm)
### Presentation
đź”— Backup Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=urkihNB3PJo
## Payloads
### [[Heimdall]]
![[Heimdall#Summary]]
### Phoenix
![[Phoenix]]
### Starlite
![[Starlite]]
## News
%%DATAVIEW_PUBLISHER: start
```
table title as "Title", published as "Published"
from "News"
where contains(partner, [[]])
sort published desc
```
%%
| File | Title | Published |
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | --------------- |
| [[News/Rocket Lab Closes Acquisition of Geost, Expanding Its National Security Capabilities with Launch, Spacecraft, and Now Payloads.md\|Rocket Lab Closes Acquisition of Geost, Expanding Its National Security Capabilities with Launch, Spacecraft, and Now Payloads]] | Rocket Lab Closes Acquisition of Geost, Expanding Its National Security Capabilities with Launch, Spacecraft, and Now Payloads | August 12, 2025 |
| [[News/Rocket Lab Enters Payload Market with Agreement to Acquire Geost, Positioning Itself as Disruptive Prime to U.S. National Security.md\|Rocket Lab Enters Payload Market with Agreement to Acquire Geost, Positioning Itself as Disruptive Prime to U.S. National Security]] | Rocket Lab Enters Payload Market with Agreement to Acquire Geost, Positioning Itself as Disruptive Prime to U.S. National Security | May 27, 2025 |
%%DATAVIEW_PUBLISHER: end%%