Iridium NEXT – Page 4 – Spaceflight Now

Timeline for SpaceX’s fourth launch of Iridium satellites

December 22, 2017 Stephen Clark

Follow the key events of the Falcon 9 rocket’s ascent to orbit with the fourth set of 10 next-generation satellites for Iridium’s voice and data relay fleet.

Falcon 9 rocket set for launch Friday from California

December 21, 2017 Stephen Clark

SpaceX is set to close out a record-breaking 2017 launch campaign Friday night with the delivery of 10 more Iridium voice and data relay satellites to orbit from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California.

Space station cargo flight next on SpaceX’s launch schedule

November 27, 2017 Stephen Clark

In a reshuffling of SpaceX’s launch schedule, a Falcon 9 rocket is set for liftoff no earlier than Dec. 8 on a mission to deliver several tons of supplies and experiments to the International Space Station and return to service a Cape Canaveral launch pad damaged in a catastrophic rocket explosion last year.

Iridium swaps two new Falcon 9 rockets for “flight-proven” boosters

October 20, 2017 Stephen Clark

Citing schedule concerns over price benefits, Iridium announced Thursday it will launch its next 20 satellites on a pair of previously-flown Falcon 9 boosters from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, beginning with a Dec. 22 mission.

Photos: Falcon 9 rocket’s predawn launch from California

October 10, 2017 Stephen Clark

SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket took off Monday from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California with 10 new satellites for Iridium’s upgraded communications network in low Earth orbit.

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.

SpaceX launch adds another 10 satellites to Iridium Next fleet

October 9, 2017 Stephen Clark

Ten more satellites for Iridium’s upgraded voice and data communications fleet rode a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket into a nearly 400-mile-high orbit from California’s Central Coast Monday.

Video: Launch to landing replay of Monday’s Falcon 9 flight

October 9, 2017 Stephen Clark

Watch this replay of Monday’s liftoff of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, followed by touchdown of the booster’s first stage on a drone ship in the Pacific Ocean.

Live coverage: Falcon 9 rocket lifts off from California, lands in Pacific

October 9, 2017 Stephen Clark

SpaceX launched a Falcon 9 rocket at 5:37 a.m. PDT (8:37 a.m. EDT; 1237 GMT) Monday from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California with the third set of 10 new-generation satellites for Iridium’s voice and data relay network. The Falcon 9’s first stage booster successfully landed on a platform in the Pacific Ocean a few minutes after liftoff.

Photos: SpaceX preps Falcon 9 rocket for launch from Vandenberg

October 8, 2017 Stephen Clark

SpaceX aims to launch a Falcon 9 rocket Monday from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California with 10 new satellites for Iridium’s tracking and message relay constellation in low Earth orbit.