{"id":13904,"date":"2018-03-30T21:23:09","date_gmt":"2018-03-30T13:23:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-productionenv-bjg9h2g2bgg5b8aa.southeastasia-01.azurewebsites.net\/news\/iridium-messaging-network-gets-another-boost-from-spacex\/"},"modified":"2018-03-30T21:23:09","modified_gmt":"2018-03-30T13:23:09","slug":"iridium-messaging-network-gets-another-boost-from-spacex","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/news\/iridium-messaging-network-gets-another-boost-from-spacex\/","title":{"rendered":"Iridium messaging network gets another boost from SpaceX"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>EDITOR\u2019S NOTE: Updated at 5:30 p.m. EDT (2130 GMT) with NOAA statement.<\/strong><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_31312\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-31312\" style=\"width: 720px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-31312 size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/iridium5_launch_pano.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"720\" height=\"415\" srcset=\"https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/iridium5_launch_pano.jpg 720w, https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/iridium5_launch_pano-300x173.jpg 300w, https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/iridium5_launch_pano-678x391.jpg 678w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 720px) 100vw, 720px\"><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-31312\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">A Falcon 9 rocket climbs away from Space Launch Complex 4-East at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California, on Friday. Credit: SpaceX<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Ten more satellites for Iridium\u2019s commercial communications network flew into orbit Friday aboard a Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, raising the total number of upgraded Iridium spacecraft launched to 50 and clearing the way for liftoff of a SpaceX supply ship Monday from Cape Canaveral to the International Space Station.<\/p>\n<p>The 229-foot-tall (70-meter) Falcon 9 rocket lifted off at 7:13:51 a.m. PDT (10:13:51 a.m. EDT; 1413:51 GMT) Friday after a smooth countdown. Nine Merlin 1D engines on the Falcon 9\u2019s reused first stage booster throttled up to full power, putting out 1.7 million pounds of thrust as the rocket turned southward from the military spaceport on California\u2019s Central Coast northwest of Los Angeles.<\/p>\n<p>After exceeding the speed of sound, the Falcon 9\u2019s first stage shut down and jettisoned around two-and-a-half minutes later. The booster dropped away to conduct experimental descent maneuvers, but SpaceX did not try to recover the rocket intact on Friday\u2019s mission.<\/p>\n<p>SpaceX is disposing of its reused older-generation rockets \u2014 like the one launched Friday \u2014 as an uprated Falcon 9 version called \u201cBlock 5\u201d is set to debut next month. The Block 5 configuration\u2019s first stage is designed more multiple reuses.<\/p>\n<p>The Falcon 9\u2019s single Merlin upper stage engine lit two times during Friday\u2019s flight, pushing the 10 Iridium satellites toward a circular orbit targeted around 388 miles (625 kilometers) above Earth.<\/p>\n<p>In a secondary objective, SpaceX recovery crews tried to retrieve part of the Falcon 9\u2019s payload fairing with a fast-moving vessel in the Pacific Ocean, but the experiment ran into trouble, according to Elon Musk, the company\u2019s billionaire founder and CEO.<\/p>\n<p>The fairing recovery boat, named Mr. Steven, is outfitted with a net \u2014 or \u201ccatcher\u2019s mitt\u201d \u2014 to catch the shroud as it descends slowly under a steerable parafoil guided by GPS navigation signals. On Friday\u2019s flight, SpaceX wanted to get back one half of the fairing, a bulbous nose cone which jettisoned in two segments around three-and-a-half-minutes after liftoff.<\/p>\n<p>The aerodynamic fairing covers the sensitive satellites during final launch preps and the first phase of the flight.<\/p>\n<p>But Musk wrote on Twitter that the fairing\u2019s parafoil became twisted, and it hit the Pacific Ocean at high speed.<\/p>\n<p><iframe id=\"twitter-widget-0\" scrolling=\"no\" frameborder=\"0\" allowtransparency=\"true\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" class=\"\" style=\"position: absolute; visibility: hidden; width: 0px; height: 0px; display: block; flex-grow: 1;\" title=\"X Post\" src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/embed\/Tweet.html?dnt=false&amp;embedId=twitter-widget-0&amp;features=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%3D%3D&amp;frame=false&amp;hideCard=false&amp;hideThread=false&amp;id=979764513233715200&amp;lang=en&amp;origin=https%3A%2F%2Fspaceflightnow.com%2F2018%2F03%2F30%2Firidium-messaging-network-gets-another-boost-from-spacex%2F&amp;sessionId=6fddccee301daa3b22a94e2cc9694d92226658c2&amp;theme=light&amp;widgetsVersion=6a3ad42b224df%3A1778106238597&amp;width=550px\" data-tweet-id=\"979764513233715200\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-lang=\"en\" data-twitter-extracted-i1782699282216960057=\"true\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">GPS guided parafoil twisted, so fairing impacted water at high speed. Air wake from fairing messing w parafoil steering. Doing helo drop tests in next few weeks to solve.<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 30, 2018<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><script async=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>SpaceX wants to eventually recover and reuse payload fairings like it does first stage boosters.<\/p>\n<p>The company\u2019s engineers devised a way to capture the fairing after it \u201cfalls back from space at about eight times the speed of sound,\u201d Musk wrote on Instagram before a similar fairing recovery attempt after a launch in February. \u201cIt has onboard thrusters and a guidance system to bring it through the atmosphere intact, then releases a parafoil and our ship, named Mr. Steven, with basically a giant catcher\u2019s mitt welded on, tries to catch it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>On the last fairing catch attempt, the shroud splashed down intact a few hundred meters from Mr. Steven. But engineers want to catch the fairing before it hits the ocean to minimize refurbishment from contamination by seawater.<\/p>\n<p>Mr. Steven is currently based at the Port of Los Angeles, so SpaceX\u2019s fairing recovery experiments are limited \u2014 for now \u2014 to launches from California.<\/p>\n<p>SpaceX ended its live webcast unusually early due to&nbsp;what the company\u2019s launch commentator said were restrictions from NOAA on imagery from the Falcon 9\u2019s upper stage. During most SpaceX missions, on-board cameras beam back live views of engine burns and deployment events.<\/p>\n<p>NOAA is in charge of regulating remote sensing cameras that view Earth from space, such as high-resolution commercial reconnaissance satellites capable of monitoring global military movements, spotting cars and ships, and tracking other activities.<\/p>\n<p>But \u201crocketcams\u201d like those used on missions by SpaceX, United Launch Alliance and other companies are not so eagle-eyed.<\/p>\n<p>SpaceX said NOAA recently asserted that cameras on the second stage, used for engineering purposes, qualify as a \u201cremote sensing space system,\u201d placing the cameras within the government\u2019s regulatory reach. A provisional license obtained by SpaceX for the launch prohibited the company from airing views from the second stage once on orbit, the company said.<\/p>\n<p>SpaceX does not expect this restriction remain in effect once the company obtains a full license. No such imagery limitations are expected during the next Falcon 9 flight, scheduled for Monday from Cape Canaveral, SpaceX said.<\/p>\n<p>Under NOAA\u2019s guidelines, small, hand-held cameras are not supposed to be considered remote sensing space systems, and should be exempt the regulations.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe National and Commercial Space Program Act requires a commercial remote sensing license for companies having the capacity to take an image of Earth while on orbit,\u201d NOAA said in a statement.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNow that launch companies are putting video cameras on stage 2 rockets that reach an on-orbit status, all such launches will be held to the requirements of the law and its conditions.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSpaceX applied and received a license from NOAA that included conditions on their capability to live-stream from space. Conditions on Earth imaging to protect national security are common to all licenses for launches with on-orbit capabilities,\u201d NOAA said.<\/p>\n<p>On-board cameras made a splash last month during the maiden flight of SpaceX\u2019s Falcon Heavy rocket. SpaceX\u2019s cameras returned spectacular, widely-shared imagery of a spacesuit-wearing dummy Musk nicknamed \u201cStarman\u201d that launched on the Falcon Heavy, riding in the driver\u2019s seat of Musk\u2019s Tesla sports car.<\/p>\n<p>The video blackout had no impact on the mission, and the Falcon 9\u2019s upper stage engine successfully guided the 10 Iridium payloads into orbit, deploying the satellites one-at-a-time around an hour after liftoff.<\/p>\n<p>Iridium officials said all 10 satellites \u2014 each with sophisticated L-band and Ka-band radios and antennas, plus aircraft and ship tracking equipment \u2014 were healthy following Friday\u2019s launch.<\/p>\n<p>The spacecraft will replace 10 aging satellites in Iridium\u2019s network, which recently surpassed a million subscribers.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_31313\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-31313\" style=\"width: 676px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-image-31313\" src=\"http:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/Iridium-NEXT-CThales-Alenia-Sp-ace_Master-Image-Programmes.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"676\" height=\"380\" srcset=\"https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/Iridium-NEXT-CThales-Alenia-Sp-ace_Master-Image-Programmes.jpg 900w, https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/Iridium-NEXT-CThales-Alenia-Sp-ace_Master-Image-Programmes-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/Iridium-NEXT-CThales-Alenia-Sp-ace_Master-Image-Programmes-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/Iridium-NEXT-CThales-Alenia-Sp-ace_Master-Image-Programmes-678x381.jpg 678w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 676px) 100vw, 676px\"><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-31313\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Artist\u2019s concept of several Iridium Next satellites, with Iridium\u2019s Block 1 satellite fleet in the background. Credit: Thales Alenia Space<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s a unique coincidence that we passed the one million subscribers mark right at this launch, and it\u2019s particularly exciting because we\u2019ve surpassed this milestone earlier than we had anticipated,\u201d said Matt Desch, CEO at Iridium, in a statement. \u201cThe new satellites and services we\u2019re launching and continued strong subscriber growth are cementing our position as an industry leader and critical global communications platform&nbsp;and underscore the significant transformation we\u2019ve undergone as a company over the last 10 years.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>With Friday\u2019s mission, the Iridium kicked off the second half of its eight-launch campaign with SpaceX. Four previous missions \u2014 in January, June, October and December 2017 \u2014 each delivered 10 Iridium Next satellites to orbit.<\/p>\n<p>Iridium ordered 81 new satellites from a Thales Alenia Space\/Orbital ATK industrial team to refresh the company\u2019s communications fleet, which provides message, data and voice communications worldwide. Iridium\u2019s old satellites launched in the late 1990s and early 2000s, and are now functioning well beyond their planned seven-year missions.<\/p>\n<p>The modernized satellites \u2014 the centerpiece of a $3 billion upgrade investment \u2014 will ensure Iridium\u2019s subscribers have uninterrupted telephone service, even outside of cellular range, and they also enable higher-speed applications, such as broadband connectivity for video and data transmissions.<\/p>\n<p>SpaceX is under contract to launch 75 of the satellites. Sixty-six are needed for Iridium\u2019s full network, and another nine will serve as spares. The six remaining satellites will remain on the ground for now for a potential launch to replenish the constellation in the future.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTwo-thirds of our satellites are now in orbit and performance is exceeding expectations,\u201d said Denis Allard, vice president of constellations for Thales Alenia Space.<\/p>\n<p>Iridium expects the 10 satellites launched Friday to boost themselves into higher orbits around 484 miles (780 kilometers) in altitude over the next few weeks. They will take positions near the old satellites, allowing ground controllers to switch the network to the upgraded spacecraft one-by-one over the next 30 days, Iridium said.<\/p>\n<p>Desch said in an interview before Friday\u2019s launch that he was satisfied by the pace of satellite deployments achieved since the campaign began in January 2017.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s meeting our needs,\u201d Desch said. \u201cWe really are focused on completing our Iridium Next constellation this year. I\u2019d like it completed in the third quarter if possible. What I\u2019m really pleased with is that SpaceX has stepped up this year so far.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cUnlike last year, where we might have been waiting for SpaceX, I think this year I\u2019m trying to make sure my suppliers are delivering fast enough to go as quickly as possible,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>Iridium says more than half of its 66-satellite network is now populated with Iridium Next satellites.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf you look at the service, every customer is getting a new satellite about 60 percent of the time, so it\u2019s already over half of the time that they\u2019re getting service from the new satellites, just by the way that the beams lay down,\u201d Desch said.<\/p>\n<p>A new broadband service powered by the Iridium Next satellites, known as Iridium Certus, will begin commercial operations in mid-2018, Desch said. The L-band broadband service will reach users on the land, at sea and in the air, and testing of ground terminals is well underway.<\/p>\n<p>Each Iridium Next satellite also hosts an aircraft tracking transceiver built by Harris Corp. The air traffic monitoring project, led by an Iridium affiliate named Aireon, will become operational once at least 66 Iridium Next spacecraft are in space.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey are doing a lot of trials and demonstrations with all their customers, but you really can\u2019t provide air traffic control services if you don\u2019t have 100 percent coverage, so they need all 66 satellites in operation for that,\u201d Desch said. \u201cThey\u2019re expected to turn on their service later this year as the network goes live \u2026 and they\u2019ll start providing second-by-second coverage for air traffic controllers.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The 10 spacecraft launched Friday also&nbsp;carry ship tracking antennas for&nbsp;exactEarth, a Canadian company.<\/p>\n<p>Engineers are deactivating Iridium\u2019s retiring satellites, built by Lockheed Martin, as the new relay stations arrive in orbit. Most of the old satellites will be maneuvered out of orbit to fall back into Earth\u2019s atmosphere, and the others will undergo a procedure known as \u201cpassivation,\u201d in which their batteries and propellant tanks are drained, rendering them inert and reducing the chance of an explosion in the future.<\/p>\n<p>Iridium flares, a popular phenomena for sky-watchers over the last 20 years, will end when the last of the old satellites is retired. The Lockheed Martin-built Iridium satellites have silver-coated Teflon antennas that behave like mirrors, reflecting sunlight down to Earth just before sunrise and just after sunset.<\/p>\n<p>The flares are predictable \u2014 to the second \u2014 and the satellite briefly becomes one of the brightest objects in the night sky. Sky-watching apps and websites can provide the times of upcoming Iridium flares anywhere in the world.<\/p>\n<p>The Iridium Next satellites designed by Thales Alenia Space have a different antenna shape that does not produce flares.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe era is unfortunately coming to an end one of these days,\u201d Desch said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe most important thing if you\u2019re watching flares is that the vehicle be upright and predictable \u2014 its momentum wheels are spinning and it\u2019s in operation,\u201d Desch said. \u201cIn other words, it\u2019s not tumbling because it\u2019s been de-boosted and\/or passivated.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The last predictable Iridium flare will likely occur in late 2018 or early 2019.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s a little different for me because it\u2019s out network, but I found it to be almost an emotional experience the first time I saw one,\u201d he said. \u201cIt was almost like signaling to me.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPeople love seeing the International Space Station for the same reason, because you know there are people there,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s hundreds of miles away, and yet you can still it gleaming. I highly encourage people to go out (and see a flare). I think it\u2019s really cool \u2014 a great party trick for friends and a great way to win a drink at the right time at a bar.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Three more Iridium satellite launches are planned by SpaceX, with the next one in May.<\/p>\n<p>SpaceX\u2019s next Falcon 9 launch is set for 4:30 p.m. EDT (2030 GMT) Monday from pad 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. A Dragon cargo craft packed with several tons of supplies and experiments for the International Space Station will ride the Falcon 9 into orbit.<\/p>\n<p><b><i>Email the author.<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n<p><em><strong>Follow Stephen Clark on Twitter: @StephenClark1.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>EDITOR\u2019S NOTE: Updated at 5:30 p.m. EDT (2130 GMT) with NOAA statement. A Falcon 9 rocket climbs away from Space Launch Complex 4-East at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California, on Friday. Credit: SpaceX Ten more satellites for Iridium\u2019s commercial communications network flew into orbit Friday aboard a Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Air Force Base [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[2776,291,2901,479,530,2193,3003,25],"class_list":["post-13904","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","tag-aireon","tag-commercial-space","tag-exactearth","tag-falcon-9","tag-iridium","tag-iridium-next","tag-iridium-next-mission-5","tag-launch"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13904"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13904"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13904\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13904"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13904"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13904"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}