Tag: Iridium
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Iridium boss senses shift in SpaceX rhythm with another launch set for Friday
The Falcon 9 rocket set to launch Iridium’s fifth batch of new-generation voice and data relay satellites stands on its launch pad at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California. On the eve of the Iridium’s fifth launch with SpaceX, the mobile telecom satellite operator’s chief executive says he no longer has to wait for SpaceX’s rockets…
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Iridium NEXT-5 satellites ride to orbit on SpaceX Falcon 9
SpaceX conducted the fifth launch of its contract with Iridium Communications Friday, deploying ten more satellites to bring Iridium’s next-generation fleet up to a total of fifty satellites in orbit. Falcon 9 lifted off from Vandenberg Air Force Base at 07:13:51 Pacific Daylight Time (14:13 UTC). The launch also saw SpaceX make an unsuccessful attempt…
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Ground equipment problem slips next Falcon 9 launch to Friday
File photo of an Iridium Next satellite. Credit: Thales Alenia Space Trouble with a piece of ground equipment used for testing of the 10 Iridium communications satellites aboard the next Falcon 9 rocket launch has forced a 24-hour delay in the mission to Friday, officials said Tuesday. Liftoff of the SpaceX Falcon 9 launcher from…
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Falcon 9 conducts static fire test ahead of the fifth Iridium NEXT mission
SpaceX has static fired its Falcon 9 rocket at Vandenberg Air Force Base SLC-4E ahead of the fifth of eight planned Iridium NEXT launches. The vehicle, which includes the flight-proven booster 1041.2, will lift the fifth batch of 10 Iridium NEXT satellites into a 625 km polar orbit. The static fire test was conducted near…
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Falcon 9 conducts static fire test ahead of the fifth Iridium NEXT mission
SpaceX has static fired its Falcon 9 rocket at Vandenberg Air Force Base SLC-4E ahead of the fifth of eight planned Iridium NEXT launches. The vehicle, which includes the flight-proven booster 1041.2, will lift the fifth batch of 10 Iridium NEXT satellites into a 625 km polar orbit. The static fire test was conducted near…
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Launch preps advance in California for next Falcon 9 flight
All 10 Iridium Next satellites for the next Falcon 9 launch have arrived at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California for liftoff March 29. Credit: Iridium SpaceX’s fifth launch of replacement spacecraft for Iridium’s global voice and data communications network is set for March 29 from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, a flight that…
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Satellites for the fifth Iridium NEXT launch arrive at Vandenberg
The latest set of Iridium NEXT satellites have arrived at Vandenberg Air Force Base in preparation for the Iridium NEXT-5 launch at the end of this month. They will be launched on a Falcon 9 booster that is familiar with the mission requirements, having previously launched the Iridium NEXT-3 mission. Iridium provides global mobile satellite communications…
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SpaceX: Iridium-5 to launch in March; government shutdown creates manifest uncertainty
Iridium Communications Inc. has announced the target launch date for their fifth flight aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California, to continue deployment of their Iridium NEXT communications constellation. Meanwhile, the U.S. government shutdown is now creating uncertainties for SpaceX with their near-term manifest. Iridium NEXT-5 mission gets a launch…
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Falcon 9 launch lights up Southern California sky
Take a look back at the Dec. 22 liftoff of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, a launch that was visible across Southern California and as far away as Arizona as the booster climbed into sunlight at dusk to deliver 10 commercial Iridium communications satellites to orbit. The 229-foot-tall…
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SpaceX launch dazzles, delivering 10 more satellites for Iridium
Credit: Gene Blevins/LA Daily News Putting on a holiday light show for Southern California and much of the desert southwest, a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket fired into a twilight sky from the Pacific coastline Friday night to add 10 new satellites to Iridium’s upgraded communications network. The two-stage, kerosene-fueled rocket climbed into the rarefied upper…