SpaceX is due to launch Iridium’s satellites numbers 11-20 on a single rocket, due to take off from California at 13:24 Pacific time. The first 10 satellites went into orbit in January and were in service by March, replacing older units.
The company plans a total of 75 satellites to be launched over eight launches, with the new fleet expected to be completed by mid-2018.
Services from the new Iridium fleet will include a global real-time aircraft surveillance and tracking network. Iridium also plans an enterprise service, Certus, with global coverage at up to 1.4Mbps.
“Certus is in development right now and we plan to run beta trials in the second half of this year with an anticipated commercial launch in 2018,” said CEO Matt Desch.
