Iridium NEXT

Aireon used part of the new funds to pay satellite operator Iridium $35,000,000 before the end of 2018 for hosting its sensor payloads on the Iridium Next constellation.

Iridium has launched a new suite of connectivity products and services that use the $3,000,000,000 Iridium Next satellite constellation.

SpaceX launched the final 10 Iridium Next satellites into orbit on 2019-01-11.

Iridium and SpaceX originally expected the Iridium Next missions to take place from 2015 to 2017.

The Iridium Next satellites replace Iridium’s legacy fleet that was built by Motorola and Lockheed Martin and launched about 20 years earlier.

The 2019-01-11 launch completes Aireon’s network of aircraft-tracking sensors that are included as payloads onboard each Iridium Next satellite.

Iridium first signed a contract with SpaceX in 2010 to orbit 72 Iridium Next satellites.

The completed Iridium Next constellation numbers 75 satellites, including 66 operational units and nine spares in low Earth orbit.

The 2019-01-11 launch completes the $3,000,000,000 Iridium Next constellation.

Iridium launched five Iridium Next satellites with the twin GRACE-FO satellites in May 2018, including two re-manifested satellites originally assigned to a Russian-Ukrainian Dnepr mission and three additional Iridium Next satellites.

Iridium prefers to lower spending in order to pay down debt on the $3,000,000,000 Iridium Next constellation.

SpaceX prepared a Falcon 9 launch for 2019-01-08 to place the final batch of Iridium Next satellites into orbit from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.

Harris applied expertise gained from supplying hosted payloads for Iridium Next communications satellites to develop its own small spacecraft.

SpaceX has launched seven batches of Iridium Next satellites from Vandenberg since January 2017.

Iridium Communications scheduled SpaceX’s eighth and final Iridium Next launch for 2018-01-07 on 2018-12-07.

SpaceX scheduled the launch of the final 10 Iridium Next satellites from Vandenberg Air Force Base no earlier than 2018-12-30.

SpaceX had a Falcon 9 scheduled to launch the final batch of 10 Iridium Next satellites from Vandenberg no earlier than 2018-12-30.

SpaceX’s remaining 2018 missions, all using Falcon 9 rockets, include Spaceflight Inc.’s SmallSat Express, the U.S. Air Force’s first GPS 3 satellite, NASA’s CRS-16 resupply mission to the International Space Station, and the final 10 Iridium Next satellites for Iridium.

The final 10 Iridium Next satellites are slated to launch 2018-12-30.

Aireon operates a space-based ADS-B network onboard Iridium Next to expand real-time tracking of airplanes over oceans and regions not covered by ground-based radar.