Intuitive Machines has become a vertically integrated space prime after its January Lanteris acquisition, no longer a binary bet on lunar landers. Lanteris gives it the industrial base to compete for Tier 1 defense contracts with Lockheed and Northrop at a leaner cost. Building hardware in-house captures the full value chain of the $4.8 billion NSNS contract and should lift margins as it shifts to recurring data services. Proof that this speeds NSNS should erase the lunar-specialist discount. x.com
