Iridium NEXT fully operational – Satellite News Digest

The Iridium NEXT constellation of satellites, developed and built by Thales Alenia Space, is now fully operational. Following eight successful launches between January 2017 and January 2019, a total of 75 Iridium NEXT satellites are now fully deployed in low Earth orbit (LEO). More specifically, the constellation operates with 66 satellites at an altitude of about 780 kilometers, distributed in six orbital planes of 11 satellites each, backed by nine in-orbit replacement satellites and six ground spares.

http://www.sat-nd.com/archive/?id=2019020603

Share This Article