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Jason Rhian
July 18, 2018
Launch of Iridium 1 from the Space Launch Complex of the Vandenburg Air Force 4. Photo credit: SpaceX
SpaceX is working on a successful new launch for its 2018 manifesto in the coming days. As is often the case with the firm NewSpace, this mission will be a commercial flight intended to continue a longstanding collaboration with one of the most loyal customers of the company.
An Iridium NEXT satellite. Photo credit: Iridium Communications
The success of this mission should bring to 65 the number of Iridium NEXT satellites placed in orbit on behalf of Iridium Communications. It is currently estimated that to complete the constellation, it will take at least eight flights to loft the entire fleet of 75 spacecraft.
Iridium NEXT represents a $ 3 billion investment by the company. Launchings like Flight Seven is setting up a global mobile satellite network and has been described by Iridium Communications as "… one of the largest technological upgrades ever made in space."
If everything works with the Iridium NEXT constellation, the fleet will provide a range of services, such as monitoring and surveillance of aircraft worldwide provided by the Aireon system SM .
This series of launches is performed to replace Iridium Communications' entire fleet of "old" spacecraft already in service. When these spacecraft will be in place, this new constellation will be successful to some eight SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket flights.
The mission is currently scheduled to take off at 5:12 pm PDT (12:12 UTC) Friday, July 20. The scheduled launch of Friday is expected to be the penultimate launch of the planned Iridium NEXT program.
Some 81 Iridium NEXT satellites were built. Sixty-six of them will include the operational fleet in orbit and nine more in the space will serve as spare parts in orbit. The remaining six will remain on Earth and serve as spare parts on the ground.
The version of the Falcon 9 rocket chosen to perform this particular flight, the Block 5 variant of the launcher, should take the Californian sky on July 20th. (2018) SpaceX launch facilities at Space Launch Complex 4 (SLC-4) at Vandenberg Air Force Base. The two-stage Falcon 9 is powered by a mixture of liquid oxygen and RP-1 (a refined version of kerosene).
SpaceX has already completed 12 flights this year (2018) from its Vandenberg facility. "" Our strong presence in the world of security services demonstrates the unique benefits our network can provide, "said Matt Desch, Chief Executive Officer. from Iridium's management, about Space Launch Complex 40 of Florida. in a May 2018 press release issued by the company. "With each successful launch, we are getting closer to Iridium NEXT while fully operational, officially launching a new era of satellite connectivity. In terms of safety communications, especially for those operating in the air or at sea, it is of utmost importance to have network redundancy and resilience built-in thanks to the cross-links of our satellite, especially in times of distress. We recognize this and believe that as the only network covering the entire planet, we have the inherent responsibility to constantly innovate for this critical arena. "
Video courtesy of December 22, 2017 Iridium NEXT launch provided by IridiumComm
Jason Rhian
Jason Rhian spent several years honing his skills by doing internships at NASA, the National Space Society and in Canada. other organizations. He has provided content for sales outlets such as: Aviation Week and Space Technology, Space.com, The Mars Society and Universe Today.
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