Q&A with Marc Eisenberg, Orbcomm’s chief executive

Construction is complete on the first batch of 81 new satellites to overhaul Iridium’s mobile communications network, and the data relay stations will soon head from their factory near Phoenix to California’s hilly Central Coast for launch Sept. 11 on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket.

SpaceX launched 60 more Starlink satellites Wednesday into a sunny sky over Florida’s Space Coast, adding more capacity and coverage to the company’s commercial broadband network while setting new records for the pace it is reusing Falcon 9 rocket boosters.

India’s Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle Mk.2 lifted off at 1040 GMT (5:40 a.m. EST; 4:10 p.m. Indian Standard Time) with the GSAT 7A communications satellite for the Indian Air Force. The rocket placed the spacecraft into a supersynchronous transfer orbit around 19 minutes after liftoff from Sriharikota on India’s east coast.