Tag: Iridium
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Iridium’s third batch of new satellites set for Monday launch
The third set of 10 Iridium Next communications satellites were prepared for launch at Vandenberg Air Force Base over the last month. Credit: Iridium Ten new satellites for Iridium’s $3 billion next-generation communications network are set for launch Monday from California’s Central Coast aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. The mission’s Falcon 9 booster passed…
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SpaceX sets target launch dates for back-to-back flights next month
File photo inside SpaceX’s hangar at pad 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Credit: SpaceX SpaceX engineers are readying two Falcon 9 rockets for launches Oct. 7 and Oct. 9 from Florida and California, setting up another quick turnaround to first deploy a large TV broadcasting satellite for SES and EchoStar over the…
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Iridium marks new satellite network, 20 healthy satellites & 55 more to launch
With just 20 satellites of the Iridium Next constellation in orbit, Iridium Communications’ six remaining launches with SpaceX over the next year will place their entire 75 satellite network into polar orbit. The new constellation replaces an aging network and promises innovative, everyday telecommunications applications from airplane location services to maritime distress/communication to public global…
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Video: Falcon 9 rocket lifts off from Vandenberg, lands in Pacific
SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket lifted off Sunday from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California and carried 10 Iridium communications satellites toward a perch in low Earth orbit, then the launcher’s first stage nailed a landing on a platform positioned in the Pacific Ocean. The 229-foot-tall (70-meter) rocket took off at 1:25:14 p.m. PDT (4:25:14 p.m.…
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SpaceX closes out a rocket doubleheader with Iridium launch and booster landing
SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket blasts its way into orbit. (SpaceX via YouTube) Two days after launching a Falcon 9 rocket from Florida and landing it again, SpaceX accomplished the same feat in California, bringing 10 satellites to low Earth orbit for Iridium’s next-generation communications network. Liftoff came at 1:25 p.m. PT from Vandenberg Air Force Base…
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Timeline for Falcon 9’s second launch of Iridium satellites
Follow the key events of the Falcon 9 rocket’s ascent to orbit with the second set of 10 next-generation satellites for Iridium’s voice and data relay fleet. The 229-foot-tall (70-meter) rocket will lift off Saturday at 1:25:14 p.m. PDT (4:25:14 p.m. EDT; 2025:14 GMT) from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. Data source: SpaceX T-0:00:00:…
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SpaceX launches and lands second Falcon 9 rocket in two days
The Falcon 9 rocket accelerates downrange south from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California after Sunday’s liftoff with 10 Iridium Next satellites. Credit: SpaceX Two days after launching a Falcon 9 rocket from Florida, SpaceX sent another mission into orbit Sunday from California’s Central Coast with 10 new satellites for Iridium’s voice and data relay…
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Falcon 9 rocket launching Sunday sports fin upgrade
The new grid fins, seen here in black, will aid in the recovery and reuse of SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket boosters. Credit: SpaceX Redesigned titanium steering fins will fly aboard a Falcon 9 rocket launching Sunday from California, part of upgrades SpaceX says will ease the reuse of future boosters. The Falcon 9 rocket is…
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Photos: Iridium satellites prepped for Falcon 9 flight
The second set of Iridium’s next-generation satellites to launch on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket were prepared for liftoff inside a climate-controlled clean room at Vandenberg Air Force Base over the last few weeks. The 10 Iridium satellites were trucked from their factory near Phoenix two-at-a-time to Vandenberg in May and early June, then bolted…
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Video: Rocketcam replay of Iridium satellite deployment
Watch a replay of one of Iridium’s 10 communications satellites launched Sunday deploys from a dispenser mounted on the forward end of SpaceX’s Falcon 9 upper stage. All 10 voice and data relay satellites separated from the launcher about one hour after liftoff from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. Email the author. Follow Stephen…