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Rocket Lab Corporation, a global leader in launch services and space systems, announced it has completed the acquisition of Motiv Space Systems, a California-based company specializing in space robotics, motion control systems, and precision mechanisms for spacecraft.
Motiv – now rebranded as Rocket Lab Robotics – brings mission-tested Mars heritage and is renowned for its advanced multi-degree of freedom robotic arms, actuators, and drive electronics that have enabled some of the most ambitious planetary exploration missions in history, including NASA's Mars Perseverance rover, the CADRE lunar rovers, and precision mechanisms supporting critical scientific instruments and spacecraft subsystems.
The acquisition establishes Rocket Lab as one of the few companies in the world capable of delivering end-to-end Mars mission solutions including launch, spacecraft, software, and Mars-proven robotics for surface and on-orbit operations. This unique capability positions Rocket Lab to lead programs like a commercial Mars Sample Return mission and NASA’s Mars Telecommunications Network, as well as other high-value planetary exploration programs. It also enables Rocket Lab to expand into significant national security applications requiring autonomous robotics in contested or remote environments.
Beyond planetary missions, the acquisition addresses rapidly emerging market opportunities in space-based infrastructure including orbital data centers and mega constellations. Rocket Lab Robotics brings in-house the design and manufacturing of critical spacecraft mechanisms such as solar array drive assemblies (SADAs), antenna and propulsion gimbals, filter wheels, focus mechanisms, and precision drive electronics, completing a key element of Rocket Lab's strategy to manufacture satellites at constellation scale and support emerging high-power orbital infrastructure. Orbital data centers are poised to revolutionize cloud computing, AI processing, and data storage in space, but they will require unprecedented power generation capabilities, demanding 100 kilowatts or more from solar arrays. These high-power systems depend on robust, precision-engineered SADAs capable of continuously pointing large solar arrays at the Sun while managing significant torque loads and thermal extremes. Rocket Lab is already a leading supplier of advanced solar cell and array technology to civil, national security, and commercial space markets, so this acquisition deepens the Company’s vertically integrated space power capabilities. The ability to design, manufacture, and integrate these systems in-house gives Rocket Lab a significant competitive advantage in building power-intensive space platforms for customers and the Company’s own programs.
“With Motiv now part of the Rocket Lab team, we have everything needed to lead the next era of Mars exploration and support the most demanding space infrastructure of tomorrow,” said Rocket Lab founder and CEO, Sir Peter Beck. “This acquisition has deepened our vertical integration, enabling Rocket Lab to deliver a complete, integrated solution for Mars missions from a single provider, whether that’s bringing Martian samples home to Earth, deploying the next generation of planetary orbiters and rovers, supporting critical national security missions, or enabling the massive solar arrays needed for orbital data centers and constellations.”
“Motiv was built around the idea that advanced robotics and motion control systems would become increasingly important to the future of space exploration and space infrastructure,” said Chris Thayer, CEO of Motiv Space Systems. “Joining Rocket Lab allows us to accelerate that vision while continuing to deliver mission-critical systems for some of the industry’s most demanding applications.”
Motiv’s 50-strong team and manufacturing facilities in Pasadena, California, join Rocket Lab’s existing advanced space manufacturing and development complexes in California, Virginia, Colorado, Maryland, New Mexico, Arizona, Canada, Germany, and New Zealand.
