Rocket Lab Falls 6% as SpaceX Flags Iridium Deal to the FCC, Intuitive Machines Slides 5%

SpaceX's FCC complaint against Iridium sent Rocket Lab down 6%, as the deal's variable exchange ratio links regulatory pressure directly to RKLB's share price.

Intuitive Machines slid 5% and AST SpaceMobile fell 6% on no company-specific news, dragged lower with the broader space sector.

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Regulatory friction at the Federal Communications Commission is turning a merger question into a share-price story, with SpaceX challenging Iridium Communications ( NASDAQ:IRDM ) conduct as the agency reviews Rocket Lab's ( NASDAQ:RKLB ) pending $8 billion takeover. The complaint hits Rocket Lab directly because the deal consideration ties Iridium payouts to Rocket Lab's own share price near closing.

Rocket Lab stock is down 6% to $63.82, extending a rough week for the launch and space systems name. Rocket Lab stock was down 3% year to date (YTD) through Thursday's close.

Notably, Intuitive Machines ( NASDAQ:LUNR ) stock is down 5% to $15.32 alongside the broader space complex. Intuitive Machines stock was up 31% over the past month heading into Friday, so today's slide walks back only a slice of that run.

SpaceX asked the Federal Communications Commission on Thursday to examine Iridium's conduct while the agency reviews applications tied to Rocket Lab's proposed acquisition. SpaceX satellite policy associate Matthew Turk asserted that "Iridium's well-documented history of anticompetitive attacks against its competitors and American consumers hangs as a cloud over the proposed transaction."

Turk stated that "SpaceX does not oppose the transaction," adding that "the Commission should carefully evaluate whether Iridium's conduct is in the public interest." Turk also mentioned that Iridium had filed more than 50 petitions over eight months seeking to block or restrict rival satellite deployments.

The underlying dispute involves SpaceX's next-generation Starlink gateways, which can support gigabit-speed service. Iridium has argued that some proposed ground stations could interfere with its operations because the companies share portions of the 19.4 to 19.6 GHz and 29.1 to 29.3 GHz spectrum bands, and that several gateways could exceed permissible interference levels "by a wide margin."