Local CEO Matthew Desch took over Iridium, based in McLean, Va., 12 years ago and helped the company recover from a troubled past to become the powerhouse that it is today. Under Desch’s leadership, Iridium averaged nine percent growth during the past decade and is operating in a category all its own. The company has […] More

Iridium Communications’ final and eighth batch of 10 Iridium NEXT satellites launched Friday from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California aboard SpaceX’s previously flown Falcon 9 rocket. Iridium said Friday the satellites, which were fielded to orbital plane three, established communications with its satellite network operations facility after launch and are set to enter the first on-orbit testing phase.

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Iridium Communications CEO Matt Desch has said the company could opt to send the six ground spare satellites for the Iridium NEXT constellation should an opportunity for a rideshare mission arise, SpaceNews reported Thursday. “If the right deal comes along, similar to the one that we had with Iridium-6 and the rideshare that we had with […] More

Iridium Communications has announced that the launch of the eighth batch of 10 Iridium NEXT satellites aboard SpaceX‘s Falcon 9 rocket is now scheduled on Jan. 7, SpaceNews reported Friday. The new schedule sought to provide SpaceX more time to accommodate Spaceflight Industries’ SmallSat Express rideshare mission, which took off on Monday, Dec. 3. Iridium CEO Matt Desch said in a […] More

Iridium Communications’ seventh batch of 10 Iridium NEXT satellites took off Wednesday aboard SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. The launch is the seventh of eight Iridium NEXT satellite missions that SpaceX agreed to perform to replace the McLean, Va.-based company’s existing network of 66 satellites in low-Earth orbit, Iridium said Wednesday. […] More

Iridium Communications has changed its target launch date for a seventh batch of NEXT communications satellites to July 25. The company said Tuesday it rescheduled the Iridium-7 mission in order to give SpaceX more time to prepare the rocket that will carry the satellites into orbit. SpaceX launched the sixth NEXT batch May 22 from Vandenberg Air Force Base […] More

Maxar Technologies’ SSL subsidiary built and provided the transceiver assembly components for a pair of Microwave Ranging Instruments that took off in May as part of the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment Follow-On mission of NASA and the German Research Center for Geosciences. Al Tadros, vice president of SSL’s space infrastructure and civil space, wrote […] More

Iridium Communications plans to launch on July 20 the seventh batch of 10 Iridium NEXT satellites aboard a SpaceX-built Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. The planned launch would bring the total number of Iridium NEXT satellites in orbit to 65 under a potential $3 billion communications satellite constellation replacement program that […] More

ExecutiveBiz talked with Matt Desch, chief executive officer, and a four-time Wash100 winner, about Iridium’s May 22nd satellite launch, their partnership with SpaceX and where he sees the company’s path ahead. “Over the years, we’ve gone public and renewed ourselves to the point that we’re not just surviving anymore; we’re thriving.” ExecutiveBiz: You’ve been chief […] More

The five Iridium Communications satellites that Hawthorne, Calif.-based firm SpaceX launched Tuesday have entered the testing and validation phase. “Three of the [Iridium NEXT] satellites from this launch will be going directly in to service in our sixth orbital plane, where the other two will serve as spares,” Iridium Chief Operating Officer Scott Smith said in a […] More

Five Iridium NEXT satellites that are scheduled for launch on May 19 have arrived at SpaceX’s launch site in Vandenberg Air Force Base in California to go through pre-launch processing procedures. Iridium Communications said Wednesday each satellite will be mated in the dispenser, fueled, stacked on the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket’s payload adapter and encapsulated […] More

Iridium Communications’ fifth batch of 10 Iridium NEXT satellites lifted off Friday from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California aboard SpaceX‘s Falcon 9 rocket and established communications with the company’s satellite network operations facility after launch. The launch marks the second use of the rocket’s first-stage booster that SpaceX deployed in October 2017 to send the third set of […] More