$RKLB OUTLINES PLANS FOR A MUCH MORE POWERFUL $IRDM NETWORK
- Reinvest the savings from the deal into the Iridium network
- Speed up a next-gen constellation with 20x more beams per satellite
More beams means each satellite can serve far more users at once
Source: Oct 30 FCC filing
Shaun Maguire’s bottoms-up SpaceX $SPCX model (50th percentile) shows a clear inflection starting in 2027.
I converted the quarterly figures into charts, and the 2027 revenue explosion stands out immediately.
Key points:
• FY2026 revenue: ~$51.5B
• FY2027 revenue: ~$274B (≈5.3× year-over-year)
• FY2028 revenue: ~$731B
• Driver: Space Infrastructure (SI), especially terrestrial compute
• Terrestrial compute capacity scales from 1 GW (early 2026) to 21 GW (end-2028)
• Assumption: ~$40B annual revenue per GW
• By FY2028, SI is ~85% of total revenue
• Operating income turns positive in Q3’26, accelerates from 2027
• EBITDA reaches ~$536B in FY2028
• Free cash flow stays negative through 2027, turns positive mid-2028 amid ~$369B of annual capex
• Starship ramps to 250 flights in 2028
Shaun himself noted this is a 25th–50th percentile estimate that factors in risks like political headwinds and major supply chain issues. Elon replied: “I think we can do better.”