Iridium NEXT – Page 8 – Spaceflight Now

SpaceX return-to-flight slips to early January

December 7, 2016 Stephen Clark

SpaceX’s first mission since a rocket explosion on a Florida launch pad is now scheduled for early January, when a Falcon 9 booster is set to begin a 70-satellite deployment for Iridium’s next-generation voice and data relay network, the company announced Wednesday.

SpaceX sets Dec. 16 for first flight since launch pad explosion

December 2, 2016 Stephen Clark

The first 10 satellites in Iridium’s next-generation mobile voice and data network could head into orbit from California as soon as Dec. 16 on SpaceX’s first Falcon 9 flight since a booster exploded on its launch pad at Cape Canaveral in September, grounding the commercial launcher more than three months.

SpaceX hopes procedure fix can allow Falcon 9 launches to resume

October 31, 2016 Stephen Clark

Investigators probing the Sept. 1 explosion of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket on its launch pad in Florida believe a high-pressure gas tank inside the launcher’s upper stage most likely burst due to the conditions of the helium loaded into it, a finding that could simplify fixes needed before the commercial booster can return to service.

Falcon 9 could launch again in November, Falcon Heavy debut slips to 2017

September 14, 2016 Stephen Clark

SpaceX hopes to resume launches in November as the company continues its investigation into a Sept. 1 launch pad explosion to determine whether the accident originated on the Falcon 9 rocket or ground systems, officials said Tuesday.

SpaceX may turn to other launch pads when rocket flights resume

September 6, 2016 Stephen Clark

Ground crews could face months of cleanup and repairs to SpaceX’s primary launch pad at Cape Canaveral after a rocket explosion wrecked the facility last week, but officials said that other pads in Florida and California could support Falcon 9 flights when the booster is ready to blast off again.

First two Iridium Next satellites shipped to Vandenberg

August 3, 2016 Stephen Clark

The first two next-generation Iridium satellites, designed to connect global subscribers with data and voice traffic, arrived at Vandenberg Air Force Base on Tuesday, where they will join eight more message relay craft for launch in September on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket.

Iridium satellites rolling off assembly line in Arizona

July 13, 2016 Stephen Clark

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.

With Russian launch grounded, Iridium flips order of satellite deployments

February 29, 2016 Stephen Clark

Stymied by Russian government dithering that has indefinitely grounded a launch on a modified Soviet-era missile, Iridium officials say that SpaceX agreed to move up to July the first of seven Falcon 9 launches from California with the company’s next-generation mobile communications satellites.

Radio bug to keep new Iridium satellites grounded until April

November 10, 2015 Stephen Clark

The first launch for Iridium’s next-generation mobile communications fleet has been pushed back four months — from December until April — to resolve a technical problem inside the spacecraft’s Ka-band communications payload.

Space-based airplane tracking demonstrated by ESA satellite

May 7, 2015 Stephen Clark

An experimental receiver aboard a European satellite has picked up signals from more than 15,000 aircraft in the last two years, paving the way for future missions that could track global commercial air traffic from space.