COMPANIES · SPACE INFRA
Intuitive Machines
Intuitive Machines is a Houston company that has soft-landed two spacecraft on the Moon and holds NASA contracts to carry data between Earth, lunar orbit and deep space. In January 2026 it bought Lanteris Space Systems - the satellite-manufacturing half of the old Maxar - for about $800 million, turning itself into a full spacecraft prime.
Intuitive Machines is a Houston company that has soft-landed two spacecraft on the Moon and holds NASA contracts to carry data between Earth, lunar orbit and deep space. In January 2026 it bought Lanteris Space Systems - the satellite-manufacturing half of the old Maxar - for about $800 million, turning itself into a full spacecraft prime.
It is one of the few companies that both builds satellites and operates communications and navigation networks beyond Earth orbit, and it is pursuing Golden Dome and Space Development Agency work. Anyone tracking company names here should note the chain: Maxar became Lanteris plus Vantor, and Lanteris is now inside Intuitive Machines.
NASA and US national-security customers pay Intuitive Machines for lunar delivery missions, spacecraft, and data transmission and navigation services.
United States
Space and next-generation infrastructure. Launch providers, satellite builders and operators, ground networks and the first attempts at running computing in orbit. Most of these companies have no AI business today; they are on this map because of what they carry, connect or build for the companies that do. Open the space lens.
Connections (2)
Every connection below is tied to a readable source, date, classification and statement of its limits. A company source establishes what that company stated; it does not necessarily provide independent confirmation.
Comparisons (2)
Source: 2026-06-30 · reviewed 2026-09-24
Evidence: Analytical comparison · Product/market overlap
Limits: The cited source documents only Firefly's award and does not name Intuitive Machines. It does not establish that the two bid against each other for this task order, nor compare their pricing, landing success rates or share of CLPS awards.
Firefly Aerospace Awarded $144 Million NASA CLPS Contract for Accelerated Blue Ghost Lunar Mission ↗Source: 2026-01-13 · reviewed 2026-09-24
Evidence: Analytical comparison · Product/market overlap
Limits: The cited source does not name L3Harris. It establishes only that Intuitive Machines states an intention to pursue these programs; it does not establish head-to-head bidding, any award to Intuitive Machines, or a comparison of capability, price or scale.
Intuitive Machines Completes Acquisition of Lanteris Space Systems ↗Intuitive Machines Completes Acquisition of Lanteris Space Systems ↗
Reviewed
Inclusion in this database is not an endorsement of a company or its securities. Nothing here is a recommendation to buy or sell anything, and none of it is individualized investment advice. See the disclosures. Data: AI Map v3.22, released .