Tag: Iridium NEXT
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Photos: Iridium satellites prepped for Falcon 9 flight
The second set of Iridium’s next-generation satellites to launch on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket were prepared for liftoff inside a climate-controlled clean room at Vandenberg Air Force Base over the last few weeks. The 10 Iridium satellites were trucked from their factory near Phoenix two-at-a-time to Vandenberg in May and early June, then bolted…
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Video: Rocketcam replay of Iridium satellite deployment
Watch a replay of one of Iridium’s 10 communications satellites launched Sunday deploys from a dispenser mounted on the forward end of SpaceX’s Falcon 9 upper stage. All 10 voice and data relay satellites separated from the launcher about one hour after liftoff from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. Email the author. Follow Stephen…
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Live coverage: Ten Iridium satellites successfully deployed by Falcon 9 rocket
Live coverage of the countdown and launch of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California with 10 next-generation Iridium communications satellites. SpaceX’s live video coverage begins at approximately 4:10 p.m. EDT (2010 GMT; 1:10 p.m. PDT). Text updates will appear automatically below; there is no need to reload the page. Follow…
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SpaceX rocket passes key preflight test before liftoff from California
The 10 Iridium Next communications satellites slated to launch Sunday from California were recently encapsulated inside the Falcon 9 rocket’s payload fairing. Credit: Iridium Juggling simultaneous launch campaigns on both coasts, a team of SpaceX engineers put a Falcon 9 rocket through a customary countdown rehearsal and hold-down firing Tuesday at Vandenberg Air Force Base…
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Falcon 9 launch delay sets up potential SpaceX ‘doubleheader’ next weekend
Updated at 5 p.m. EDT (2100 GMT) with details. File photo of a Falcon 9 rocket at launch pad 39A before a previous mission. Credit: Stephen Clark/Spaceflight Now SpaceX has pushed back the liftoff of a Bulgarian television broadcast satellite on the company’s second previously-flown Falcon 9 rocket until at least Friday, giving ground crews…
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Iridium hails performance of new satellites, targets four more launches this year
Artist’s concept of an Iridium Next satellite in space. Credit: Thales Alenia Space Eight of Iridium’s first ten upgraded communications satellites launched in January started providing voice and data relay service ahead of schedule, and SpaceX says it can launch up to 40 more Iridium spacecraft by the end of the year, Iridium officials reported…
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Falcon 9 booster, first recovered off West Coast, back in port
The first stage of a Falcon 9 rocket launched Saturday has returned to port in Southern California after landing on a floating platform in the Pacific Ocean, ready for refurbishment and potential reuse on a future mission. The 15-story booster and its barge, named “Just Read the Instructions,” were towed into the Port of Los…
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Fresh views of Saturday’s Falcon 9 rocket launch
Check out more imagery of Saturday’s liftoff of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, including pictures from remote cameras at the launch pad and new video released by the U.S. Air Force. The 229-foot-tall (70-meter) rocket soared into orbit from Space Launch Complex 4-East at Vandenberg Air Force Base, heading off with 10 Iridium voice and…
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Watch as Falcon 9 launches with 10 Iridium satellites and its first stage lands
Watch the first SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lift off since a catastrophic launch pad explosion at Cape Canaveral in September 2016. The rocket, launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California on January 14, 2017, was carrying 10 satellites for the Iridium mobile phone and Internet communications company. The Falcon 9 first stage was successfully…
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Photos: Falcon 9 returns to flight with weekend launch from California
Launching for the first time in four-and-a-half months, SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket took off from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California on Saturday morning with 10 satellites for Iridium’s space-based message relay network. Towering 229 feet (70 meters) tall and measuring 12 feet (3.7 meters) in diameter, the two-stage rocket fired into the sky on…