Tag: Iridium Next

  • SpaceX begins 2019 with successful Iridium Next launch

    SpaceX completed the last of there contracted launches for Iridium Next with the successfully delivery of 10 satellites to orbit this morning. The launch which had been delayed several times due to satellite and vehicle technical issues successfully lifted off at 10:31 AM EST. This was the 2nd flight of the booster 1049 which again…

  • SpaceX successfully launches another 10 Iridium Next satellites

    This morning SpaceX completed their 14th launch of the year and second of the week with the successful deployment of another 10 Iridium Next satellites.  This was the second launch of the morning coming just 14 minutes after the Arianespace launch, however, the mission completed first due to the shorter coast phase before deployment. Launching…

  • SpaceX launches Iridium and NASA Satellites

    SpaceX continued their 2018 campaign with the successful launch of five more Iridium Next satellites as well as two for NASA. The NASA satellites consisted of two Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment Follow-on (GRACE-FO) satellites which will measure variations in gravity over Earth’s surface. The two Grace satellites were deployed shortly after the second stage reached…

  • SpaceX launches another 10 Iridium Next satellites

    SpaceX successfully launched another 10 Iridium Next satellites from their Vandenburg launch pad today.  The launch was originally scheduled for March 30th but was delayed a day due to a testing issue with one of the 10 satellites that turned out to be a cable issue with the test system. Following a smooth countdown, the…

  • SpaceX launches 4th Iridium Next Mission

    SpaceX concluded it’s launch manifest for 2017 with the successful launch of the 4th Iridium Next and deployment of another ten Iridium Next satellites.  The booster used for this mission previously launched ten Iridium Next satellites in June of this year. This was the 18th launch this year for SpaceX and 45th Falcon 9, unlike…

  • SpaceX completes Iriduim-3 launch

    This morning SpaceX completed the third of their Iridium Next launches delivery another ten satellites to orbit. As with the previous Iridium launches the rocket lifted off from SpaceX’s Vandenburg launch site at 8:37 am EDT.  Once in orbit, the ten satellites were delivered to their destinations successfully.  After separation, the first stage of the…

  • SpaceX launches second set of Iridium® NEXT satellites

    In the second launch in two days SpaceX successfully deployed ten more Iridium® NEXT satellites.  The Falcon 9 booster lifted off from Vandenberg, CA carrying the ten satellites at 4:25 PM EDT and 57 minutes later started deploying the individual satellites. The first stage landed back on the Autonomous Spaceport Drone Ship “Just Read The…

  • SpaceX launches first of seven Iridium Next payloads

    This afternoon SpaceX successfully returned to flight operations following the September 1st anomaly with the successful launch of ten Iridium Next satellites.  The launch was delayed several times due to the investigation into the anomaly, as well as the unfavorable weather around Vandenburg this week. As a result of the investigation into the anomaly, there…

  • SpaceX ready for resumption of Falcon 9 launches

    Following a four month investigation into the September 1st anomaly that resulted in the lose of a Falcon 9 rocket with it’s payload the Spacecom Amos 6 satellite and significant damage to Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral, Florida. SpaceX announced this week that they have completed the investigate (see report here) and…