Maxar splits and rebrands just before its manufacturing arm is snapped up
Maxar Technologies, once one of the most recognisable satellite imagery and manufacturing companies in the world, has been re-branded into two distinct businesses, signalling a shift in the satellite industry.
The decision to retire the Maxar Technologies brand and reinvent the two parts of the business was announced on 1 October. The manufacturing arm of the company, formerly known as Maxar Space Systems has become Lanteris. Meanwhile Maxar Intelligence – providing an Earth observation-based imagery and intelligence service - has become Vantor.
Lanteris represents a decisive move to embrace defence, while continuing to manufacture commercial satellites and space infrastructure. The company will operate across “national security, missile tracking, space infrastructure, deep space exploration and commercial connectivity” according to a press release.
Vantor, on the other hand, will see Maxar’s satellite imagery business turbo-charged with AI to provide a geospatial intelligence platform. The move demonstrates the need for Earth observation firms to provide analysis to help their customers make sense of the plethora of images increasingly available to them.
What happens to Maxar’s satellite fleet?
Vantor (previously Maxar Intelligence) will own and operate imaging satellites including the WorldView and GeoEye constellations while Lanteris will continue to maintain the satellites that are already in orbit – and those still in development – in terms of hardware.
Maxar’s origins
The Maxar brand was formed in 2017 when MDA, a Canadian space technology company, acquired DigitalGlobe (founded in 1992) and created a new entity. Maxar Technologies Inc was the result: a publicly listed company combining satellite manufacturing with satellite imagery services, with its headquarters in Colorado.
MDA’s other acquisitions prior to 2017 proved key to Maxar’s offering. In particular, the acquisition of Space Systems Loral (SSL), previously known as Ford Aerospace, in 2012 would later enable Maxar Space System’s satellite manufacturing capability.
Two years later, Maxar let go of its Canadian MDA assets - including ground stations, satellite components and radar satellite products - to reduce its debts. It sold these to Northern Private Capital for $1 billion Canadian dollars (around $765 million US dollars) in December 2019. The sale included around 1,900 employees, leaving Maxar with a workforce of about 4,000 people, and was closed in April 2020.
Although Russia’s invasion of Ukraine triggered geopolitical shockwaves, it also served as a catalyst for widespread recognition of the Maxar name after the company’s satellite imagery frequently made headlines for capturing evidence of Russia’s assault. Despite this, Maxar’s financial struggles persisted. By May 2023 it was acquired by Advent International, a private equity firm, for US$6.4 billion in cash and went private.
What next?
Just over a month since Lanteris came into being, it is already heading for another big change. On 4 November Intuitive Machines announced its intention to acquire the defence and space technology company from Advent International for $800 million. That figure is made up of $450 million in cash and $350 million in Intuitive Machines common stock. The deal is expected to close in the first quarter of 2026, subject to regulatory approvals.
Consolidation in the industry has been driven by the benefits of scale. While this has been most apparent in the GEO communications market - Eutelsat’s merger with OneWeb in 2023 and Intelsat’s acquisition by SES this year - the same is true of manufacturing.
A case in point of this is the signing of a memorandum between Airbus, Thales Alenia Space and Leonardo in October. The sometime competitors in space manufacturing have opted to come together to form a super-manufacturing firm to develop spacecraft to compete with SpaceX.
Nevertheless, the increasing beating of war drums in Europe and in Asia-Pacific has compelled more players towards space – the key to any future wars, whether through satellite operations or for missile defence. The rapid acquisition of Lanteris by Intuitive Machines is a sign of this.
David Todd contributed to this story