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

Iridium has secured a launch for five more of its next-generation communications craft in a rideshare arrangement with two U.S.-German research satellites aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket by early 2018.

Iridium chief executive Matt Desch spoke with Spaceflight Now on the eve of the first launch for the company’s next-generation satellite fleet, discussing the $3 billion upgrade’s technical and financial ramifications and his feelings before deployments begin in orbit.

A commercial communications satellite set for launch from Florida’s Space Coast on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket to beam broadband and television signals across the Asia-Pacific region will remain on Earth until at least Sunday night, 24 hours later than previously scheduled.