News Archive / Tagged: Iridium Communications

• ‘Flarewell’: Predictable Iridium flares nearing end

  Cullen DesforgesJune 3rd, 2019

  Professional and backyard astronomers alike have been observing predictable streaks, or flares, across the night sky for the better part of two decades.

• Iridium NEXT constellation upgrade completed

  Cullen DesforgesFebruary 12th, 2019

  Iridium Communications announced last week in a press conference that it had finished its 10-year satellite upgrade project known as Iridium NEXT.

• Iridium-7 mission takes to California’s skies atop SpaceX Falcon 9

  Jason RhianJuly 25th, 2018

  Wasting no time after its launch several days ago in Florida, SpaceX sent another Falcon 9 aloft, this time from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California with the latest wave of Iridium NEXT satellites on their way to space. 

• SpaceX launches 5 Iridium NEXT, 2 GRACE-FO satellites on Falcon 9 ride-share mission

  Derek RichardsonMay 22nd, 2018

  LOMPOC, Calif. — Sending the quintuple-satellite Iridium-6 mission into space for Iridium Communications along with NASA’s twin Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment Follow-On (GRACE-FO) spacecraft as part of a ride-share agreement, SpaceX launched its ninth Falcon 9 of 2018.

• SpaceX set to send Iridium-6/GRACE-FO missions spaceward

  Derek RichardsonMay 21st, 2018

  LOMPOC, Calif. — SpaceX is gearing up to launch another Falcon 9 rocket, this time with another set of Iridium NEXT communications satellites as well as NASA’s two Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment Follow-On (GRACE-FO) spacecraft.

• Iridium-4 mission slips to December, taps ‘flight-proven’ Falcon 9 for launch

  Curt GodwinOctober 20th, 2017

  Though Iridium Communications is now targeting a launch date near the end of the year for the Iridium-4 mission, the company demonstrated its faith in the quality of SpaceX's hardware and refurbishing regime by opting to fly on a "flight-proven" Falcon 9 first stage.

• SpaceX launches 10 Iridium NEXT satellites on Iridium-3 mission

  Derek RichardsonOctober 9th, 2017

  VANDENBERG, Calif. — SpaceX flew the first Falcon 9 rocket in what could be a launch doubleheader for the NewSpace company. The Iridium-3 mission lifted off from Vandenberg Air Force Base and saw the third set of 10 Iridium NEXT satellites placed into space.

• SpaceX Falcon 9 set to fly Iridium-3 mission

  Derek RichardsonOctober 8th, 2017

  VANDENBERG, Calif. — Working to continue its breakneck launch pace, SpaceX is set to launch two Falcon 9 rockets in two days. First up is the Iridium-3 mission, which will launch on Oct. 9, 2017, from the company’s West Coast launch pad at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.

• Iridium NEXT flight 3 gets launch date

  Collin SkocikAugust 7th, 2017

  SpaceX is targeting Sept. 30, 2017, for the liftoff of the third set of 10 Iridium NEXT satellites for Iridium Communications. The launch atop a Falcon 9 rocket is targeted for 9:30 a.m. EDT (13:30 GMT) from Space Launch Complex 4 East (SLC-4E) at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.

• Iridium-2 launch moved up by 4 days

  Derek RichardsonMay 26th, 2017

  The next batch of Iridium NEXT satellites is set to fly to space four days earlier than planned. On May 25, 2017, Iridium Communications announced the new launch date atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket is scheduled for 1:24:59 p.m. PDT (20:24:59 GMT) June 25, 2017, from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.

• Iridium contracts 8th SpaceX launch, shares ride with NASA satellites

  Curt GodwinFebruary 2nd, 2017

  With the successful launch of its first set of 10 Iridium NEXT satellites, Iridium Communications has contracted with the GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences to share a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket for an early 2018 launch.