FCC opens comment window on Rocket Lab's Iridium takeover

The Federal Communications Commission accepted Rocket Lab and Iridium's license-transfer applications for filing on September 16, starting the public-comment phase of its review with comments and petitions due October 15, oppositions due October 30 and replies due November 9. The step is procedural rather than an approval, but it clears the first regulatory gate ahead of the Iridium stockholder vote on September 24, and it opens a docket in which SpaceX has already asked the commission to scrutinize Iridium's conduct toward rival satellite operators while saying it does not oppose the deal itself. Rocket Lab said at World Space Business Week in Paris that the roughly $8 billion acquisition remains on track to close by the second quarter of 2027.