Following its acquisition of Lanteris Space Systems, Intuitive Machines is setting its sights on a broader range of space endeavors, encompassing everything from contributing to the Golden Dome program to potentially crafting a crewed lunar lander. Intuitive Machines formally announced on November 4th that it had reached an agreement with Advent International, the owner of Lanteris, to purchase the company for $800 million in cash and stock.
In a subsequent investor call, executives shared that the purchase of Lanteris, previously known as Maxar Space Systems, will allow Intuitive Machines to extend its reach beyond its current lunar focus, which includes landers and relay satellites, and into fresh applications. “Intuitive Machines is positioned to become the next-generation space prime, applying our demonstrated agility and innovation with Lanteris’ unmatched satellite production scale and proven spaceflight reliability,” said Steve Altemus, chief executive of Intuitive Machines.
“The transaction represents the next step in Intuitive Machines’ evolution from a lunar-proven space infrastructure company to a vertically integrated space prime provider of choice, serving national security, civil and commercial customers.” One particular opportunity highlighted by Altemus is Golden Dome. Lanteris holds contracts to supply its Lanteris 300 satellite buses to L3Harris for that company’s Space Development Agency (SDA) awards for Tracking Layer Tranche 1 and Tranche 2 satellites. According to Altemus, these contracts “unlocked the potential of Lanteris 300 series spacecraft for national security applications and established it as a trusted, competitive supplier.”
He further suggested that the integration with Intuitive Machines could amplify this standing. “As Golden Dome takes shape, the combination of the ingenuity and innovation that Intuitive Machines brings with its systems and communications and navigation schemes, coupled with the very capable satellite buses produced by Lanteris, offers unique solutions that I don’t think are in the market today with any other vendor,” he said. “We feel like we’re in a good position for the future opportunities coming out of Golden Dome.” The acquisition also propels Intuitive Machines’ lunar ambitions forward. Altemus hinted at the possibility of leveraging Lanteris’ capabilities to engineer a larger lunar lander, potentially one designed to transport astronauts.
“We actually are in a fantastic position to build a team and offer solutions for the Human Landing System. NASA is keenly interested in finding a way to deliver that earlier,” he stated. “Intuitive Machines is going to throw our hat in the ring with Lanteris by our side and other companies joining our team. So you can expect an offering from Intuitive Machines.” The current state of Intuitive Machines’ potential participation remains uncertain. NASA Acting Administrator Sean Duffy announced Oct. 20 that the agency would “open up” the existing Artemis 3 contract to competition, but so far that means only seeking acceleration options from Blue Origin and SpaceX and a request for information, which has not yet been publicly released, for other companies.
Another lunar opportunity stemming from the acquisition lies in utilizing Lanteris’ satellite buses for lunar spacecraft. Altemus mentioned that while Intuitive Machines is constructing the initial three satellites for a lunar communications relay constellation to serve NASA and other clients, future spacecraft could be built by Lanteris. “We anticipate in that lunar constellation that there will be more demand and more customers for the satellites as we move forward over the coming three or four years, and so we’re anticipating that need and providing more capability for size, weight and power on those buses,” he said.
This could potentially encompass cislunar space domain awareness capabilities using these satellites. He also noted that employing larger Lanteris satellites for the lunar constellation “can prove out the capability for Mars data relay, and essentially those satellites would be precursors to Mars data relay satellites in the future.” Intuitive Machines revealed limited details regarding the genesis of the Lanteris deal. “We had an M&A strategy that we’ve been working on for some time,” Altemus stated, alluding to mergers and acquisitions. He recalled the August announcement of an agreement to acquire KinetX, a deep-space navigation and mission design specialist, for $30 million. “It was small but strategic, and they’re brilliant people that we added to the company. Next on the list was Lanteris,” he said.
The deal is partially financed through proceeds from a $345 million sale of convertible notes in August. At the time, the company indicated its intention to allocate most of the funds for general corporate purposes, including potential acquisitions. “In August, we completed a $345 million gross convertible note offering with the intent to acquire a company that would transform us into a next-generation space prime,” said Pete McGrath, chief financial officer of Intuitive Machines. “Lanteris is that company.”