Terran Orbital, small satellite manufacturer and operator is set for public listing. It’s the latest of a host of SPAC-related merger announcements this year.

Terran merges with Special Purpose Acquisition Company Tailwind Two Acquisition Corp.SPAC, which trades under ticker TWNT. Terran will receive a valuation of $1.8 billion and the deal is expected to close during the first quarter 2022. Terran will then be listed on the New York Stock Exchange as ticker LLAP.

SPAC (special purpose acquisition company) raises capital via an initial public offering. The proceeds are used to acquire a private company and take it public.

Marc Bell, Terran Orbital CEO and co-founder said that Terran Orbital was the United States’ largest independent manufacturer of small satellites. With our large volume and innovative production of small satellites we are able to bring emerging technologies into space quicker, cheaper, faster, and more reliable than anyone else.

Tailwind Two shares rose by 1% from $9.89 at its last close.

Company headquarters are in Boca Raton. Last month, Terran announced plans for a new 660,000-square foot facility to be built near Cape Canaveral. Terran claims that once the plant is fully operational it will produce more than 1,000 spacecraft annually. It will cost $300M to construct.

The deal is expected to add about $330 million in cash for Terran’s growth, with funds coming through those raised by Tailwind Two as well as a $50 million PIPE round – or private investment in public equity – which included investors AE Industrial Partners, Beach Point Capital and Lockheed Martin.

Terran plans to also build its own constellation of satellites for earth imaging, which will have 96 orbiting spacecraft. Terran plans to launch its first two satellites in the next year and will have all of its constellation by 2026.

It had $25m in revenue last year from satellite solutions, but it is expected to increase to $35 million next year. The company expects to be profitable on an adjusted EBITDA basis by 2023, and projects $2.6 billion in revenue by 2026 – with $918 million coming from satellite solutions and $1.7 billion from its earth imagery business.

Terran is joining a growing number of companies in space that are going public via SPAC transactions. Virgin Galactic the first of the recent generation in 2019. Several have closed and begun trading – including Astra AST SpaceMobile Rocket Lab Spire Global BlackSky MomentusPlease see the following: Redwire – with others having merger agreements in place – including Planet Labs Virgin OrbitAnd Satellogic