Flight-Proven Falcon 9 Rocket is Vertical at Vandenberg Air Force Base and Ready for Fourth Iridium® NEXT Launch
What: Iridium Communications, in partnership with SpaceX, is prepared to launch its fourth set of 10 Iridium NEXT satellites today, December 22nd, on SpaceX’s flight-proven Falcon 9 rocket. The full payload and rocket have been transported to the launch pad, and the rocket is vertical for launch. The payload has an instantaneous launch window scheduled for 5:27:34 pm PST. Once deployed, there will be a total of 40 Iridium NEXT satellites in low earth orbit. The Falcon 9 rocket first stage being used in today’s launch was previously flown during Iridium’s second launch, which successfully took place in June.
Iridium NEXT is the company’s $3 billion, next-generation, mobile, global satellite network scheduled for completion in 2018. These new satellites are replacing the company’s existing global constellation in one of the largest technology upgrades ever completed in space. It represents the evolution of critical communications infrastructure that governments and organizations worldwide rely upon to drive business, enable connectivity, empower disaster relief efforts and more. Iridium NEXT will enable and introduce new services like the Company’s next-generation broadband service, Iridium CertusSM.
When: Launch is Scheduled for Friday, December 22nd at 5:27p.m. PST / 1:27 a.m. UTC on December 23rd
Who: Iridium Communications and SpaceX
Where: Vandenberg Air Force Base, California – SpaceX launch site: SLC-4E
A live feed of the launch will be available starting twenty minutes prior to launch at: www.spacex.com/webcast
About Iridium Communications Inc.
Iridium is the only mobile voice and data satellite communications network that spans the entire globe. Iridium enables connections between people, organizations and assets to and from anywhere, in real time. Together with its ecosystem of partner companies, Iridium delivers an innovative and rich portfolio of reliable solutions for markets that require truly global communications. The company has a major development program underway for its next-generation network — Iridium NEXT. Iridium Communications Inc. is headquartered in McLean, Va., U.S.A., and its common stock trades on the NASDAQ Global Select Market under the ticker symbol IRDM. For more information about Iridium products, services and partner solutions, visit www.iridium.com.
