Intuitive Machines has made another acquisition, moving to buy U.K.-based Goonhilly Earth Station, which operates a network of ground station antennas and provides deep space communication services.
Intuitive Machines explained the acquisition will enable the company to expand its integrated space-to-Earth network, increasing capacity for deep space communications, data relay, and Position Navigation and Timing (PNT) capabilities
It’s the company’s third recent acquisition after buying spacecraft manufacturer Lanteris Space Systems (formerly Maxar), and deep space navigation provider KinetX.
“With KinetX, Lanteris, and now Goonhilly, Intuitive Machines is building the capability to manufacture spacecraft, connect space-to-ground networks, and operate space infrastructure across multiple domains for a diversified customer base,” CEO Steve Altemus told investors on Thursday.
The deal announced Thursday also includes Comsat, a wholly owned Goonhilly subsidiary that operates as Goonhilly USA. Between the two companies, they operate 44 antennas across teleports in the U.S. and U.K.
The acquisition is subject to regulatory approval and set to close in the third quarter of this year.
After the transaction, Goonhilly will operate as a wholly owned subsidiary of Intuitive Machines, retaining its status as a U.K. entity, Goonhilly said in a statement.
In a call with investors on Thursday, Altemus pointed to NASA’s recent Ignition event, which cast a vision for more frequent trips to the Moon and a plan for establishing a Moon base, as validating the company’s strategy for lunar data transmission and its Near Space Network services contract.
NASA selected Intuitive Machines in 2024 to build a lunar satellite constellation to provide communication and navigation services for NASA’s Artemis activities on the Moon as part of the agency’s Near Space Network. Altemus said Thursday that the first lunar data relay satellite for NASA is expected to launch later this year, on the same mission as Intuitive Machines IM-3 lunar lander.
The agreement to acquire Goonhilly and Comsat is strategically important to this work because it adds deep space-qualified assets and strengthens the company’s space-to-ground network, he said.
“We believe customers want less friction in their mission architecture,” Altemus said. “They want a single, resilient, interoperable network that can help them communicate with, navigate, and control spacecraft across Low-Earth Orbit, Lunar Orbit and cislunar environments. With Goonhilly, we are expanding our ability to provide that service now and scale it in parallel with demand.”
