Video: Iridium payload released from Falcon 9 rocket in orbit

October 10, 2017 Stephen Clark

Watch a replay from a camera mounted on-board SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket as it released one of 10 Iridium Next communications satellites Monday nearly 400 miles above Earth.

The rocket carried 10 satellites mounted on a two-tier dispenser atop the Falcon 9 second stage. Once the rocket achieved the planned circular orbit, computers sent commands to deploy the satellites one-at-a-time around an hour after liftoff from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.

Read our full story for details on the mission.

Email the author.

Follow Stephen Clark on Twitter: @StephenClark1.

Related Articles

Falcon 9

Falcon 9 rocket ready for all-important return to service Saturday

January 13, 2017 Stephen Clark

SpaceX rolled a fully-assembled Falcon 9 booster out of its hangar and lifted it on top of a launch pad Friday for the first time since an explosion grounded the commercial rocket last year, setting the stage for a one-second launch window Saturday to take off from California’s Central Coast and deploy the first 10 satellites in orbit for a $3 billion upgrade to Iridium’s globe-spanning message relay network.