Mary-Louise Hoffman
Orbital Sciences has begun to integrate payloads for Iridium Communications‘ NEXT satellite constellation at an Orbital-run facility in Gilbert, Az.
Orbital is responsible for assembling and testing NEXT low-earth-orbit satellites under an agreement signed with Thales Alenia Space, the project’s prime contractor, Orbital said Thursday.
Under that contract, Orbital will deliver 66 satellite platforms, nine ground support vehicles and six in-orbit spares.
“Team members from all over the world have been working together to challenge the processes, build hardware for validation testing and work to make this process as efficient as possible,” said Scott Smith, Iridium chief operating officer.
Iridium’s NEXT constellation is scheduled for a 2015 launch and will aim to address mobile communications demand worldwide.
