Lockheed Martin’s lineup of satellite buses and a Space Development Agency transport layer spacecraft. Photo: Lockheed Martin

Lockheed Martin completed its acquisition of smallsat manufacturer Terran Orbital, acquiring the former SPAC as its largest customer.

Terran Orbital and subsidiary Tyvak International are now part of Lockheed Martin’s Space business area and recognized as Terran Orbital, a Lockheed Martin company. Lockheed said in an Oct. 30 release it will remain a merchant supplier to the space industry for satellite design, production, launch planning, mission operations, and in-orbit support.

Peter Krauss, who had been serving as COO since June 1, will lead the company as CEO, according to Lockheed Martin’s 8-K filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Krauss is the founder of PMK Consulting, and previously led payment card company Arroweye Solutions as CEO, and led Plasticard Locktech International as CEO. 

The new leadership team also includes Thomas Klinger of Lockheed Martin Space as acting CFO. Charles Nichols, who had been serving as multi-functional manufacturing director at Lockheed Martin is appointed chief transition officer.

CEO Marc Bell is no longer with the company. In addition, CFO Adarsh Parekh, CRO Marco Villa and chief transformation officer Gary Hobart are no longer with the company. 

Terran Orbital went public in March of 2022 in the wave of special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) mergers and ran into financial troubles in its two and a half years as a public company. Twice it was at risk of its stock being delisted for trading below $1. After signing a $2.4 billion constellation deal with Rivada Space Networks, Terran Orbital later slashed its revenue outlook in 2023 and removed the constellation from its backlog this year as Rivada did not keep up with payments.

Lockheed Martin agreed to acquire the satellite manufacturer in August in a $450 million deal based on enterprise value, a bargain versus the $606 million unsolicited proposal put forward in March. Lockheed Martin was Terran Orbital’s largest customer and represented 71% of the company’s revenue in the first six months of the year. 

Terran Orbital builds satellite buses for Lockheed’s Space Development Agency (SDA) contracts. The company delivered 10 buses for the Tranche 0 Transport Layer. It is currently building 42 buses for Lockheed’s work on the Tranche 1 Transport Layer and 18 satellite buses for the Tranche 2 Tracking Layer.