Iridium
Author(s): Thomas Guilpain DaveBowman2001
Release date:
Last updated:
Iridium is a series of satellites in sun-synchronous orbit that provide mobile communications around the globe. Between 1997 and 2019, a total of 172 satellites were flown in 31 launches. As of 2022, only the last 75 Iridium satellites of the NEXT generation are still operational to this day
| Iridium Satellite Constellation (1997-2019) |
|||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mission | Launch | No. of Satellites | |||
| First generation, 1997-2002 | |||||
| Iridium MS-1 | 1997-May-5 | 5 | |||
| Iridium MS-2 | 1997-Jun-18 | 7 | |||
| Iridium MS-3 | 1997-Jul-9 | 5 | |||
| Iridium MS-4 | 1997-Aug-21 | 5 | |||
| Iridium MFS-5 | 1997-Sept-1 | 2 | |||
| Dummy mass simulators on a test launch | |||||
| Iridium MS-6 | 1997-Sept-14 | 7 | |||
| Iridium MS-7 | 1997-Sept-27 | 5 | |||
| Iridium MS-8 | 1997-Nov-9 | 5 | |||
| Iridium MS-9 | 1997-Dec-8 | 2 | |||
| Iridium MS-10 | 1997-Dec-20 | 5 | |||
| Iridium MS-11 | 1998-Feb-18 | 5 | |||
| Iridium MS-12 | 1998-Mar-25 | 2 | |||
| Iridium MS-13 | 1998-Mar-30 | 5 | |||
| Iridium MS-14 | 1998-Apr-7 | 7 | |||
| Iridium MS-15 | 1998-May-2 | 2 | |||
| Iridium MS-16 | 1998-May-17 | 5 | |||
| Iridium MS-17 | 1998-Aug-19 | 2 | |||
| Iridium MS-18 | 1998-Sept-8 | 5 | |||
| Iridium MS-19 | 1998-Nov-6 | 5 | |||
| Iridium MS-20 | 1998-Dec-19 | 2 | |||
| Iridium MS-21 | 1999-Jun-11 | 2 | |||
| Iridium MS-22 | 2002-Feb-11 | 5 | |||
| Iridium MS-23 | 2002-Jun-20 | 2 | |||
| Second generation, 2017-2019 | |||||
| Iridium NEXT-1 | 2017-Jan-14 | 10 | |||
| Iridium NEXT-1 | 2017-Jan-14 | 10 | |||
| Iridium NEXT-2 | 2017-Jun-25 | 10 | |||
| Iridium NEXT-3 | 2017-Oct-9 | 10 | |||
| Iridium NEXT-4 | 2017-Dec-23 | 10 | |||
| Iridium NEXT-5 | 2018-Mar-30 | 10 | |||
| Iridium NEXT-6 | 2018-May-22 | 5 | |||
| Launched with the GRACE-FO satellites | |||||
| Iridium NEXT-7 | 2018-Jul-25 | 10 | |||
| Iridium NEXT-8 | 2019-Jan-11 | 10 | |||
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