Quantum Space, a startup with plans to build highly maneuverable spacecraft for the U.S. military, announced plans to go public through a $1.2 billion merger with a publicly traded special purpose acquisition company, or SPAC.

In a season of mega-IPOs, there’s something almost quaint about a SPAC — in 2021, a fad for going public through the vehicle began in the space sector and spread throughout the tech world. Many SPACs proved disastrous for retail investors who wagered on immature companies, but a few deals, notably Rocket Lab and Planet, proved successful.

Another positive outcome was Intuitive Machines, a purpose-built NASA contractor launched by Kam Ghaffarian, a long-time space investor who backed a team of former NASA officials eager to sell their expertise back to the agency. Today, Intuitive Machines is a $6.4 billion company sending a regular cadence of robotic missions to the moon.

Now, Ghaffarian is trying to do it again with Quantum Space, a startup he launched in 2020 to capitalize on the founding of the U.S. Space Force and the growing need for vehicles that can move between orbits and rendezvous with other spacecraft.

“Defense spending, space infrastructure, and America’s strategic priorities in orbit are converging at exactly the moment Quantum Space is ready to scale,” Ghaffarian told TechCrunch. “The Space Force’s requirements are growing rapidly, and demand for maneuverable spacecraft is accelerating. Ranger is purpose-built to meet both.”

At the helm is CEO Jim Bridenstine, a former member of Congress and the NASA administrator during President Donald Trump’s first term. A champion of public-private partnerships, Bridenstine will aim to leverage his knowledge of the space industry to win key contracts.

Quantum Space is involved in six government development programs, including one that may see its vehicle head for the moon. But the company has a simple focus.

“We are designed specifically for the national security,” Bridenstine said. While most satellites only carry enough fuel to alter their position slightly and eventually dispose of themselves, a newer generation of spacecraft — including some fielded by Russia and China — are designed to move rapidly between orbits and remain in place for sustained surveillance work.

Ranger, the company’s spacecraft, is designed to match and exceed those competitors. It is expected to carry significant fuel, allowing it to remain in high orbits over long periods to watch rival satellites. The vehicle also has to be refuellable in order to qualify for Andromeda task orders.

Quantum Space was selected to join the Andromeda contract, a $6.2 billion effort that will task companies to develop vehicles for space-based reconnaissance. Now it has to win task orders for actual funded missions starting in 2030.

The SPAC transaction is expected to raise $300 million in private investment alongside any public proceeds, which will be used to build manufacturing facilities in Tulsa, Oklahoma, capable of producing one Ranger per quarter by the end of 2028. The next step is launching the first Ranger prototype to orbit in 2027. The deal is sponsored by Mike Blitzer, the financier who helped bring Intuitive Machines and USA Rare Earth to public markets.

Still, the decision to leave private markets behind highlights the competition Quantum Space faces. True Anomaly, a startup that is also competing for Andromeda task orders, has raised $1 billion from venture investors. The company is also looking to beat out established defense contractors like Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, and Boeing’s Millennium Space Systems, among others.

President Trump signed a national security presidential memorandum on Friday ordering the US military and intelligence agencies to accelerate their adoption of cutting-edge AI. The directive, NSPM-11, establishes a framework for “rapid onboarding of the most advanced AI models from multiple vendors.” It also bars any company from disabling, degrading, or modifying an AI system that warfighters depend on without prior government approval.

That vendor restriction is the most striking provision. It means an AI company cannot pull a deployed model from military use unilaterally, even if the company has safety concerns about how it is being used. The clause lands directly in the context of the Pentagon’s ongoing feud with Anthropic, which was blacklisted as a supply chain risk after refusing to allow its Claude models to be used for autonomous weapons or mass surveillance.

“The men and women who defend our nation deserve the best, most secure and most reliable AI in the world,” said Michael Kratsios, director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy.

The memo also directs Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth to issue an updated directive on autonomous weapon systems within 90 days. That update would revise DoD Directive 3000.09, the foundational Pentagon policy governing when and how autonomous and semi-autonomous weapons can be used, including requirements for human judgment before lethal force is applied.

There are stated limits. The memo prohibits defence agencies from creating or releasing AI models designed to “censor free speech, embed ideological bias or conduct unlawful surveillance against the American people.” But it does not define those terms or explain how compliance would be enforced.

The directive follows Tuesday’s executive order that established a voluntary 30-day review window for frontier AI models before public release. Together, the two documents outline a dual approach: light-touch regulation for the commercial sector and aggressive adoption for the military.

The “multiple vendors” language signals a shift away from single-provider dependency. Until recently, Anthropic was the only AI vendor approved for classified military use. After the Pentagon signed classified deals with Nvidia, Microsoft, and AWS, the administration is now formalising a multi-vendor approach.

The memo makes accountability central. Commanders, directors, and agency heads remain responsible for ensuring AI is used in line with its stated obligations. Annual reviews of key guidance across the national security enterprise are required to keep pace with the AI frontier. Whether those reviews will be meaningful or performative remains an open question.