SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket launched into orbit Iridium Communications' first ten Iridium Next satellites on 14 January. Falcon 9 successfully returned to space after a period in which launches were halted to discover the probable cause of its last crash. Falcon 9's first stage booster successfully landed on a drone-ship at sea. This is SpaceX's 7th recovered rocket overall.
The satellites were delivered into low-Earth orbit from the Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. Iridium’s satellite constellation Next replaces its existing network of low-Earth orbit satellites spanning the entire globe.
Once fully deployed, Iridium Next will enable a new broadband multi-service capability called Iridium Certus. It will also support new services and technologies from Iridium’s partner network. Among those technologies is a hosted payload from Iridium’s partner Aireon, which will provide a global aircraft surveillance service.
After meeting testing and validation requirements, the satellites will be moved from a 625-kilometre parking orbit into their 780-km operational orbit and begin providing service to Iridium’s customers. The second Iridium Next launch will be scheduled after this on-orbit testing is completed, in April. The entire Iridium Next network is scheduled to be completed by mid-2018. Both Thales Alenia Space, System Prime Contractor for the programme, and their subcontractor for production, Orbital ATK, took part in the development of the Iridium Next programme.
