Viasat has selected Rocket Lab Corporation (Nasdaq: RKLB) to build the satellite bus for one of the first small, maneuverable geosynchronous-orbit spacecraft under the U.S. Space Force's Protected Tactical SATCOM-Global (PTS-G) program — Rocket Lab's first-ever GEO satellite build for a national-security customer.
Anatomy of the award
Under the deal, Rocket Lab will supply its Lightning bus platform to host Viasat's mini-GEO payload as part of PTS-G Swarm 1, a first production award Viasat received in May under its prime contract with Space Systems Command. The Swarm 1 scope covers manufacturing, integration and test, launch and on-orbit checkout for one of the initial mini-GEO satellites in the constellation.
PTS-G is central to the Space Force's push for global, resilient anti-jam military satellite communications, moving away from monolithic legacy GEOs toward smaller, faster-to-produce satellites that can be replenished on operational timelines. The end architecture targets scalable, protected SATCOM for U.S. and allied forces operating in contested environments.
Rocket Lab widens its national-security footprint
The Viasat selection lands 24 hours after Rocket Lab was onboarded to the $981 million NITE-STAR IDIQ for space test and training infrastructure, and just weeks after it secured a record $266 million Space Force suborbital launch contract out of Kodiak. It also builds on Rocket Lab's earlier work under PTS-G, where Viasat and Intelsat took home Swarm 1 prime awards in June totaling roughly $437 million.
From small-sat launcher to GEO systems house
Rocket Lab is best known for its Electron small-lift rocket and Photon smallsat bus, but the Lightning platform pushes the firm firmly into medium/GEO-class spacecraft — territory historically dominated by Boeing, Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman. The Viasat award follows Rocket Lab's other large national-security programs, including the Space Development Agency's Tranche 2 Transport Layer and Globalstar constellation builds.
The company said combining Lightning with Viasat's mini-GEO payload and anti-jam waveforms will deliver secure, resilient connectivity for warfighters — pitched squarely at the survivability gap the Space Force is trying to close as adversaries field more sophisticated jamming and counterspace tools.
Reporting based on coverage from Rocket Lab, Viasat and GlobeNewswire.