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Тематические разделы => Прикладная космонавтика => Тема начата: Димитър от 27.01.2015 14:51:54

Название: Iridium NEXT.
Отправлено: Димитър от 27.01.2015 14:51:54
 Дела у компании Иридиум видимо идут хорошо, и они позаботились обновить спутники. Спутниковая система состоит из 66 работающих спутников и еще 6 резервних. Старие спутники, запущенние в 1997-98 г., уже отработали по 16 - 17 лет.
Название: Iridium NEXT.
Отправлено: Димитър от 27.01.2015 15:13:03
Конкурс на создание. 72 нових спутников виграла компания TAS. А виводит их будет SpaceX на Фалкон-9 1.1. Будет 7 пусков по 10 спутников в каждом. Еще 2 спутника полетят на РН Днепр с Домбаровского.
Первий полетит Днепр в июне 2015
К концу года сделает первий пуск и Маск. В 2016 будут еще 4 старта Фалкона. В начале и в середине 2017 состоятся последние 2 старта.
Название: Iridium NEXT.
Отправлено: Димитър от 27.01.2015 22:55:50
http://novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/forum/forum14/topic14042/?PAGEN_1=21 (http://novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/forum/forum14/topic14042/?PAGEN_1=21)
июнь 2015 – два спутника Iridium NEXT – Днепр – Домбаровский 370/1/1 
Спасибо Анику!
 
http://novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/forum/forum14/topic9573/?PAGEN_1=19 (http://novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/forum/forum14/topic9573/?PAGEN_1=19)
2015
late - Iridium Next Flight 1 (x10) - Falcon 9 v1.1 - Vandenberg SLC-4E 
2016
TBD - Iridium Next Flight 2 (x10) - Falcon 9 v1.1 - Vandenberg SLC-4E 
 TBD - Iridium Next Flight 3 (x10) - Falcon 9 v1.1- Vandenberg SLC-4E 
 TBD - Iridium Next Flight 4 (x10) - Falcon 9 v1.1- Vandenberg SLC-4E 
 TBD - Iridium Next Flight 5 (x10) - Falcon 9 v1.1- Vandenberg SLC-4E (or 2017) 
2017
first half - Iridium Next Flight 6 (x10) - Falcon 9 v1.1- Vandenberg SLC-4E 
midyear - Iridium Next Flight 7 (x10) - Falcon 9 v1.1- Vandenberg SLC-4E 
Спасибо коллеги Сало!
Название: Iridium NEXT.
Отправлено: Димитър от 27.01.2015 23:00:28
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iridium_satellite_constellation


Iridium is currently developing, and is expected to launch beginning in 2015, Iridium NEXT, a second-generation worldwide network of telecommunications satellites, consisting of 66 satellites, with six in-orbit and nine on-ground spares. These satellites will incorporate features such as data transmission which were not emphasized in the original design.[8] (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iridium_satellite_constellation#cite_note-in20100616-8)The original plan was to begin launching new satellites in 2014.[9] (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iridium_satellite_constellation#cite_note-9) Satellites will incorporate additional payload for Aireon, Inc. (https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Aireon,_Inc.&action=edit&redlink=1)[10] (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iridium_satellite_constellation#cite_note-10) and perhaps cameras and sensors in collaboration with some customers and partners. Iridium can also be used to provide a data link to other satellites in space, enabling command and control of other space assets regardless of the position of ground stations and gateways.[8] (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iridium_satellite_constellation#cite_note-in20100616-8) The constellation will provide L-band data speeds of up to 1.5 Mbit/s and high-speed Ka-Band service of up to 8 Mbit/s.[11] (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iridium_satellite_constellation#cite_note-gom20120827-11)[12] (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iridium_satellite_constellation#cite_note-12)
The existing constellation of satellites is expected to remain operational until Iridium NEXT is fully operational, with many satellites expected to remain in service until the 2020s. Iridium is planning for the next-generation of satellites to have improved bandwidth. This system will be backward compatible with the current system. In August 2008, Iridium sel ected two companies—Lockheed Martin (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lockheed_Martin) and Thales Alenia Space (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thales_Alenia_Space)—to participate in the final phase of the procurement of the next generation satellite constellation. On June 2, 2010 the winner of the contract was announced as Thales Alenia Space, in a $2.1 billion deal underwritten by Compagnie Française d'Assurance pour le Commerce Extérieur (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compagnie_Fran%C3%A7aise_d%27Assurance_pour_le_Commerce_Ext%C3%A9rieur).[13] (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iridium_satellite_constellation#cite_note-deal-13)Iridium additionally stated that it expected to spend about $800 million to launch the satellites and upgrade some ground facilities.[14] (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iridium_satellite_constellation#cite_note-14)
In June 2010, Iridium signed the largest commercial rocket launch deal ever, a US$492 million contract with SpaceX (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SpaceX) to launch tens of Iridium NEXT satellites on multiple Falcon 9 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Falcon_9)launchers in 2015–2017 fr om Vandenberg AFB Space Launch Complex 3 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vandenberg_AFB_Space_Launch_Complex_3).[15] (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iridium_satellite_constellation#cite_note-15) The 66 operational satellites in the constellation, plus six on-orbit spares, 70 satellites will be put in orbit by seven launches of 10 satellites each on the Falcon 9, plus two of the 800 kilograms (1,800 lb) Iridium NEXT satellites on a single launch[16] (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iridium_satellite_constellation#cite_note-sn20110622-16) of an ISC Kosmotras (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ISC_Kosmotras) Dnepr rocket (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dnepr_rocket), beginning in 2015 and completing the refresh of the entire constellation by 2017, as of August 2012.
Название: Iridium NEXT.
Отправлено: SFN от 31.01.2015 05:31:59
F gj heccrb tcnm&
Название: Iridium NEXT.
Отправлено: Александр Ч. от 02.02.2015 11:45:58
ЦитироватьSFN пишет:
F gj heccrb tcnm&
D rjkjyrt cktdf tcnm vty. "на других языках". Otkrftnt yf Русский   :D  
ЦитироватьСледующее поколение спутников
Разработка спутников типа Иридиум продолжается, есть планы к 2015 году (https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/2015_%D0%B3%D0%BE%D0%B4) завершить разработку спутника Iridium NEXT — второго поколения системы содержащей 66 основных и 6 резервных спутников. Они будут предоставлять такие возможности, как передача данных, данная функция была не очень хорошо реализована в оригинальной серии спутников[6] (https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%98%D1%80%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B8%D1%83%D0%BC_(%D0%BA%D0%BE%D1%81%D0%BC%D0%B8%D1%87%D0%B5%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%B8%D0%B9_%D0%B0%D0%BF%D0%BF%D0%B0%D1%80%D0%B0%D1%82)#cite_note-in20100616-6). Согласно изначальным планам запуск должен будет начаться в 2014 году (https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/2014_%D0%B3%D0%BE%D0%B4)[7] (https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%98%D1%80%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B8%D1%83%D0%BC_(%D0%BA%D0%BE%D1%81%D0%BC%D0%B8%D1%87%D0%B5%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%B8%D0%B9_%D0%B0%D0%BF%D0%BF%D0%B0%D1%80%D0%B0%D1%82)#cite_note-7). Спутники будут иметь запас по полезной нагрузке, который может быть использован для размещения камер, датчиков и др. Спутники Иридиум также могут быть использованы для предоставления каналов связи другим спутникам как альтернатива строительству дополнительных станций наземного контроля[6] (https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%98%D1%80%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B8%D1%83%D0%BC_(%D0%BA%D0%BE%D1%81%D0%BC%D0%B8%D1%87%D0%B5%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%B8%D0%B9_%D0%B0%D0%BF%D0%BF%D0%B0%D1%80%D0%B0%D1%82)#cite_note-in20100616-6).
Существующая группировка спутников должна сохранить работоспособность, по крайней мере, до 2014 года, многие спутники вполне могут продолжить работу до 2020-х. В планах Иридиум увеличить пропускную способность системы за счёт новых аппаратов к 2016. Эта система будет сохранять обратную совместимость с текущей системой.


6 Iridium NEXT (http://www.iridium.com/about/next.php), accessed 20100616.
7 ↑ (https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%98%D1%80%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B8%D1%83%D0%BC_(%D0%BA%D0%BE%D1%81%D0%BC%D0%B8%D1%87%D0%B5%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%B8%D0%B9_%D0%B0%D0%BF%D0%BF%D0%B0%D1%80%D0%B0%D1%82)#cite_ref-7) Max Jarman. Iridium Satellite Phones Second Life (http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/business/articles/2009/01/31/20090131biz-iridium0201.html). The Arizona Republic (February 1, 2009). Архивировано из первоисточника 10 мая 2012 (http://www.webcitation.org/67Xt4INXf)
Название: Iridium NEXT.
Отправлено: SFN от 02.02.2015 13:35:20
Так это вики :!:
Название: Iridium NEXT.
Отправлено: Александр Ч. от 02.02.2015 17:56:27
ЦитироватьSFN пишет:
Так это вики  :!:
Вот именно. Особенно "радуют" планы вывода на Днепре. Кстати, у SpaceX в манифесте 7 пусков Iridium есть.
Название: Iridium NEXT.
Отправлено: Sаlyutman от 02.02.2015 19:54:48
Так "Днепру" похоже уже крышка.
Название: Iridium NEXT.
Отправлено: pkl от 03.02.2015 00:30:35
Пусть "Союз-2.1в" покупают. В чём проблема?
Название: Iridium NEXT.
Отправлено: ВВК от 03.02.2015 03:44:28
Цитироватьpkl пишет:
Пусть "Союз-2.1в" покупают. В чём проблема?
Наверно в цене.
Название: Iridium NEXT.
Отправлено: Александр Ч. от 03.02.2015 08:28:02
ЦитироватьВВК пишет:
Цитироватьpkl пишет:
Пусть "Союз-2.1в" покупают. В чём проблема?
Наверно в цене.
Сам по себе Союз не сильно дороже Днепра. НЯП, последние цены 38 против 31 м.$ . Проблема в том, что ПН меньше. Значит больше пусков и тогда вся программа дороже существенно. Склероз, забыл, что Днепром должны были вывести пару спутников :-D

А вот Стрелой было бы забавно ;-)
Название: Iridium NEXT.
Отправлено: Gradient от 03.02.2015 05:47:57
ЦитироватьАлександр Ч. пишет:

ЦитироватьВВК пишет:
Цитироватьpkl пишет:
Пусть "Союз-2.1в" покупают. В чём проблема?
Наверно в цене.
Сам по себе Союз не сильно дороже Днепра. НЯП, последние цены 38 против 31 м.$ . Проблема в том, что ПН меньше. Значит больше пусков и тогда вся программа дороже существенно.

У кого меньше?

(http://s015.radikal.ru/i333/1502/e7/4b82454f44e7.jpg)

(http://s017.radikal.ru/i435/1502/ff/1bf82bcab7b9.jpg)

Эрзац разгонный блок на Днепре делает его энергетику на орбитах выше опорной очень унылой. На орбиту Иридиума 780 км. 86,5° Союз-2.1в выводит в 2+ раза больше.
PS И да, кто подскажет благодаря какому колдунству Днепр может вывести сразу два Iridium NEXT по 800 с лишним килограмм каждый? Если верить Космотрасу для него и один где-то на пределе возможностей или даже за ним.
(http://s018.radikal.ru/i521/1502/23/0127385ad39f.jpg)
Название: Iridium NEXT.
Отправлено: OlegIn от 03.02.2015 11:29:30
А с вводом Nextа, знаменитые вспышки иридиумов уйдут в прошлое? Судя по виду, новые иридиумы уже не будут пускать зайчиков, или я ошибаюсь?
Название: Iridium NEXT.
Отправлено: PIN от 03.02.2015 12:58:32
Днепр не выведет два Iridium Next. Ну никак. Один - где-то на пределе.
Название: Iridium NEXT.
Отправлено: anik от 03.02.2015 12:13:38
ЦитироватьSOE пишет:
Днепр не выведет два Iridium Next. Ну никак. Один - где-то на пределе.
А контракт уже подписан. Что же делать-то?
Название: Iridium NEXT.
Отправлено: Gradient от 03.02.2015 08:36:12
Цитироватьanik пишет:
ЦитироватьSOE пишет:
Днепр не выведет два Iridium Next. Ну никак. Один - где-то на пределе.
А контракт уже подписан. Что же делать-то?
Расторгнут по форсмажору. В связи с внезапно открывшимися обстоятельствами  :)
Название: Iridium NEXT.
Отправлено: Александр Ч. от 03.02.2015 13:06:51
ЦитироватьGradient пишет:
У кого меньше?
У Днепра меньше. Поэтому за выведение Иридиумов-Некст можно получить больше бабла.
Название: Iridium NEXT.
Отправлено: ВВК от 03.02.2015 15:24:06
ЦитироватьАлександр Ч. пишет:
А вот Стрелой было бы забавно ;-)
А может кто-нибудь этот РН рассмотреть так же как предыдущие, что-то идея нравится.
Название: Iridium NEXT.
Отправлено: ZOOR от 03.02.2015 19:33:04
Ну, на 86,5° Союз-2.1в РП , наверное, имеет. И вывести должен.
А что фантазировать, если ни у Стрелы, ни у Днепра таких трасс нет?

ЗЫ Предлагаю рассмотреть Рокот. Пусть главный спонсор Иридиумов поработает с Украиной насчет продолжения проекта ;) Наши на коммерцию на все согласны :)
Название: Iridium NEXT.
Отправлено: Taleb от 05.02.2015 13:41:19
ЦитироватьZOOR пишет:
Ну, на 86,5° Союз-2.1в РП , наверное, имеет. И вывести должен.
А что фантазировать, если ни у Стрелы, ни у Днепра таких трасс нет?

ЗЫ Предлагаю рассмотреть Рокот. Пусть главный спонсор Иридиумов поработает с Украиной насчет продолжения проекта  ;)  Наши на коммерцию на все согласны  :)
Как-то нет сейчас уверенности, что наши сейчас за коммерцию на всё согласятся.
С тем же "Днепром - РС-20" что будет? Кто в курсе?
Название: Iridium NEXT.
Отправлено: Stalky от 06.02.2015 13:24:53
ЦитироватьTaleb пишет:
ЦитироватьZOOR пишет:
Ну, на 86,5° Союз-2.1в РП , наверное, имеет. И вывести должен.
А что фантазировать, если ни у Стрелы, ни у Днепра таких трасс нет?

ЗЫ Предлагаю рассмотреть Рокот. Пусть главный спонсор Иридиумов поработает с Украиной насчет продолжения проекта  ;)  Наши на коммерцию на все согласны  :)  
Как-то нет сейчас уверенности, что наши сейчас за коммерцию на всё согласятся.
С тем же "Днепром - РС-20" что будет? Кто в курсе?
Вот здесь про Днепр
http://novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/forum/messages/forum14/topic14671/message1342241/#message1342241
Название: Iridium NEXT.
Отправлено: ZOOR от 03.03.2015 19:07:51
http://spacenews.com/iridium-next-deployment-delayed-adding-to-spacexs-2017-backlog/
Название: Iridium NEXT.
Отправлено: Димитър от 04.03.2015 12:27:38
Значит, Днепр летит в октябре (и под вопросом?), а Маск начинает свои пуски с марта 2016?
Название: Iridium NEXT.
Отправлено: Димитър от 30.06.2015 13:53:57
Вроде Россия отказивается запускать больше Днепров. И что будет с иридиумами?
Название: Iridium NEXT.
Отправлено: Емельян Костин от 30.06.2015 14:30:31
ЦитироватьДимитър пишет:
Вроде Россия отказивается запускать больше Днепров. И что будет с иридиумами?
Не отказывается. Был СС-ный приказ по Минобороны не запускать Днепр до конца этого года. Но усилиями господина Недорослева, опытного и эффективного лоббиста, этот приказ отменили. Осенью полетит Днепр с двумя Иридиумами, даст Бог
Название: Iridium NEXT.
Отправлено: ZOOR от 30.06.2015 14:51:34
А как насчет "ДоДовской доп.нагрузки" (с Лютич (http://novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/forum/user/13720/)) в условиях все более жгучих отношений?
Название: Iridium NEXT.
Отправлено: ZOOR от 06.07.2015 22:13:35
http://www.tesscom.ru/news/index.php?ELEMENT_ID=428
ЦитироватьСообщение Исполнительного директора Иридиум Мэта Дэша        
       01.07.2015 
                   
Как вы уже скорее всего знаете, компания SpaceX в недавнем времени пережила сбой при запуске ракеты носителя Falcon 9. От имени Иридиум (http://www.tesscom.ru/systems/iridium/) я хотел бы напрямую передать сообщения всем нашим партнерам касательно последствий этого события. Несмотря на то, что это происшествие крайне неприятное, мы остаемся уверенными в возможности компании SpaceX завершить полноценное расследование обстоятельств этого происшествия, внести необходимые корректировки в конструкцию ракеты Falcon 9 и успешно доставить спутники Iridium NEXT на орбиту в 2016 году.

В соответствии с нашими планами первый запуск Iridium NEXT произойдет при помощи ракетоносителя ДНЕПР компании Космотранс с космодрома Ясный, Россия. Последующие семь запусков запланированы с компанией SpaceX с космодрома Ванденбург, Калифорния – с этого космодрома существенно меньшее количество запланированных запусков, по сравнению с Кэйп Канаверал, Флорида. Как Вы знаете, в данной ситуации нам очень повезло, так как наша спутниковая сеть находится в превосходном состоянии и работает надежно, мы полностью сфокусированы на завершении программы Iridium NEXT в 2017 году.

Ракета Falcon 9 с 2010 года успешно выполнила 19 запусков – впечатляющий результат даже с учетом недавнего сбоя, который напоминает нам о том, насколько сложна задача по выводу грузов на орбиту. Мы продолжаем плотно работать с командой SpaceX по время расследования происшествия, и предоставим Вам дополнительную информацию, как только она появится.

С уважением,
 Мэт Дэш
 Испольнительный директор, Iridium Communications Inc.       
Название: Iridium NEXT.
Отправлено: Александр Ч. от 30.07.2015 17:22:44
Расчирикались птички  ;)  
Цитировать(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/185524.jpg)Peter B. de Selding ‏@pbdes  (https://twitter.com/pbdes) 27 мин.27 минут назад (https://twitter.com/pbdes/status/626753781393424384)
IRDM: We get free reflight if 1 of our 7 SpaceX Falcon 9 launches fails. This is esp helpful given IRDM issues re raising needed insurance.
(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/185524.jpg)Peter B. de Selding ‏@pbdes  (https://twitter.com/pbdes) 1 ч.1 час назад (https://twitter.com/pbdes/status/626743481684373504)
IRDM: 2-month delay of 1st 2 sats on Dnepr rocket due to need to rework sat subsystem supplier hardware related to Ka-band sat links.
(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/185524.jpg)Peter B. de Selding ‏@pbdes  (https://twitter.com/pbdes) 2 ч.2 часа назад (https://twitter.com/pbdes/status/626731568644681728)
IRDM: We still expect all 7 SpaceX Falcon 9 launches (each with 10 sats) of our IRDM Next costellation to occur by end 2017.
(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/185524.jpg)Peter B. de Selding ‏@pbdes  (https://twitter.com/pbdes) 2 ч.2 часа назад (https://twitter.com/pbdes/status/626729753995792384)
IRDM: Our loan covenant requires insurance for all 8 IRDM Next launches (72 sats) 3 months before 1st launch. Not sure we can do that.
(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/185524.jpg)Peter B. de Selding ‏@pbdes  (https://twitter.com/pbdes) 2 ч.2 часа назад (https://twitter.com/pbdes/status/626727609410453504)
IRDM: Launch of our 1st next-gen sats will be delayed to December (had been October)
Название: Iridium NEXT.
Отправлено: Лютич от 30.07.2015 22:40:29
Резюмируя: если Минобороны таки запустит Иридиумы до весны 2016 г., ему можно будет коллективно вручить Медаль Конгресса за неоценимые услуги в пользу национальной безопасности США.
И медаль "за спасение утопающих" от Иридиума.
Название: Iridium NEXT.
Отправлено: PIN от 30.07.2015 23:54:13
Какое отношение имеют эти 2 "Иридиума" к "национальной безопасности США"?
Название: Iridium NEXT.
Отправлено: Старый от 30.07.2015 22:57:20
ЦитироватьSOE пишет:
Какое отношение имеют эти 2 "Иридиума" к "национальной безопасности США"?
Прямое. Выкуплены через подставную компанию Пентагоном и испульзуются для связи с мелкими подразделениями и отдельными бойцами.
Название: Iridium NEXT.
Отправлено: PIN от 31.07.2015 09:11:02
ЦитироватьСтарый пишет:
Прямое. Выкуплены через подставную компанию Пентагоном
Через какую?

ЦитироватьСтарый пишет:
и испульзуются для связи с мелкими подразделениями и отдельными бойцами.
Я вам больше скажу - отдельные бойцы еще и Сникерсы едят, а большинство ткани Gore-Tex используют. Не говоря уже о туалетной бумаге. Вы проверили, нет ли там соучастия РФ в финансовом состоянии этих поставщиков?
Название: Iridium NEXT.
Отправлено: Лютич от 31.07.2015 18:03:17
ЦитироватьSOE пишет:
Какое отношение имеют эти 2 "Иридиума" к "национальной безопасности США"?
Навскидку:
http://spacenews.com/iridium-next-seen-as-likely-host-for-mdas-kill-assessment-sensors/

Я уж не говорю, что Минобороны США является т.н. "якорным арендатором" коммуникационных мощностей Иридиума (до 25%).
Название: Iridium NEXT.
Отправлено: PIN от 31.07.2015 19:22:53
ЦитироватьЛютич пишет:
Навскидку:
Абсолютно не в тему - речь идет о потенциальной возможности (точнее, куда осторожнее формулировка: "industry sources say the likeliest candidate is the Iridium Next constellation") такой дополнительной полезной нагрузки (а это одна из инноваций Iridium Next) в будущем, посмотрите внимательно на годы в статье. Первые два аппарата, выводимые "Днепром" не то что дополнительного ничего не могут нести, они, скорее всего, основную полезную нагрузку имеют весьма и весьма урезанную. Иначе возможности РН тупо не позволяют их вывести.

ЦитироватьЛютич пишет:
Я уж не говорю, что Минобороны США является т.н. "якорным арендатором" коммуникационных мощностей Иридиума (до 25%).
И что?
Оно перестанет таковым быть или пострадает, если контракт на выведение первых двух аппаратов NEXT уйдет кому-то другому?
Обратите внимание на Газпром - поставляемые углеводороды используются после переработки Бундесвером. Или на 
Или на ВСМПО-АВИСМА - поставляемый Боинг титан используется и для военной продукции.
Или на Транзас - тот вообще поставлял оборудование береговой охране США.
Название: Iridium NEXT.
Отправлено: ZOOR от 31.07.2015 20:06:46
ЦитироватьГосдеп США гарантировал России невоенное назначение спутников Iridium (http://izvestia.ru/news/589362#ixzz3hUQZLnS3)

Если Минобороны одобрит запуск, американские спутники Iridium NEXT отправятся на орбиту с помощью ракеты-носителя «Днепр»

Структуры Государственного департамента США предоставили российской компании «Космотрас» официальные гарантии невоенного назначения спутников Iridium, которые планируется запустить осенью этого года с помощью конверсионной ракеты «Днепр» с пусковой базы РВСН в городе Ясный.

— Отдел космических и передовых технологий Бюро по делам океанов и международным природоохранным и научным вопросам Государственного департамента США подтверждает, что КА компании Iridium, разработанные компанией Thales Alenia Space и собранные компанией Orbital Sciences Corporation, которые будут запущены компанией МКК «Космотрас» на ракете-носителе «Днепр», будут зарегистрированы в американском Реестре объектов, запускаемых в космическое пространство, после их успешного запуска, — говорится в официальном письме из Госдепартамента. — Данные спутники предназначены для использования в общегражданских целях и являются коммерческими спутниками связи.

Как сообщил «Известиям» генеральный директор «Космотраса» Александр Серкин, аналогичные гарантии накануне были получены и от компании Iridium.

— Спутники Iridium NEXT, которые будут запущены на российской РН «Днепр», не будут нести в качестве полезной нагрузки никакой аппаратуры военного назначения, о чем компания Iridium Communications Inc. официально уведомила «Космотрас», — говорит Серкин. — Более того, успешный запуск космических аппаратов Iridium NEXT на ракете-носителе «Днепр» может открыть дорогу будущим запускам Iridium PRIME с помощью ракет «Днепр».

Iridium NEXT — это новое поколение космических аппаратов американского оператора низкоорбитальной спутниковой связи Iridium. В отличие от спутников первого поколения они позволят клиентам осуществлять передачу данных на современных скоростях — скорость увеличится с нынешних 9,6 Кбит/с до 1 Мбит/с. Первые два аппарата Iridium NEXT планируется запустить на «Днепре», а затем использовать для выведения ракеты Falcon 9 от SpaceХ.

Решение о проведении запусков «Днепров» — адаптированных баллистических ракет РС-20 «Воевода» — принимает руководство Минобороны, а затем оно санкционируется отдельным постановлением правительства. По словам знакомого с ситуацией источника в Роскосмосе, вопрос о целесообразности запуска спутников Iridium возник потому, что этот оператор предоставляет услуги связи военному ведомству США — поэтому у Госдепартамента и самой компании были запрошены официальные объяснения о назначении спутников. По словам источника «Известий», на сегодняшний день решение о проведении запуска спутников Iridium не принято.

Iridium традиционно обслуживает высшее руководство США и военных. У компании многолетний контракт с Агентством по оборонным информационным системам (US Defense Information Systems Agency, DISA), которое предоставляет коммуникационные и информационные сервисы для военных командований, президента США и многих других структур, связанных с обороной. DISA — крупнейший клиент компании: по контракту с этим агентством в 2014 году Iridium заработал $64 млн, в 2015 году счет составит $72 млн, говорится в финансовом отчете компании (суммарная выручка Iridium от оказания услуг в 2014 году составила $243,9 млн). Речь, однако, идет об оказании DISA ординарных услуг связи — передаваемые данные могут дополнительно защищаться на уровне абонентских устройств. Для исключительно военных нужд и секретной защищенной связи американские военные используют каналы связи геостационарных спутниковых систем, таких как Milstar или AEHF.

В прежние годы российские пусковые операторы не всегда отказывались выводить на орбиту иностранные спутники, несущие военные компоненты. Относительно недавно — в 2013 году — принадлежащая ракетно-космической корпорации «Энергия» компания «Морской старт» запустила с плавучего космодрома в Тихом океане космический аппарат Intelsat 27 (запуск прошел неудачно). Созданный корпорацией Boeing 6-тонный спутник Intelsat 27 принадлежал люксембургскому спутниковому оператору Intelsat и был построен для пополнения орбитальной группировки MUOS (Mobile User Objective System), обеспечивающей спутниковой связью Пентагон.

По словам представителей Роскосмоса, однозначного и четкого запрета на запуск российскими носителями иностранных спутников с аппаратурой в интересах военных не существует до сих пор.

— Решение о запуске принимается исходя из суммы факторов, учитывающих, в частности, принадлежность космического аппарата и особенностей эксплуатации, — пояснил «Известиям» официальный представитель Роскосмоса Игорь Буренков.

И чего бы ГосДеп за какую-то коммерческую, не самую крупную и жизненно необходимую,  компанию вписывался:?:
Название: Iridium NEXT.
Отправлено: PIN от 31.07.2015 22:14:29
Куда запрос послали, оттуда ответ и пришел.
Название: Iridium NEXT.
Отправлено: ZOOR от 31.07.2015 21:41:38
Ну да, конечно .............

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lvRQ1SJhUKo (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lvRQ1SJhUKo)

Пусть Иридиум у ГосДепа 5-й Минотавр попросит. Дадут, небось.
Название: Iridium NEXT.
Отправлено: PIN от 31.07.2015 23:59:27
Ровно то же приходит ЕКА и Еврокомисии (в случае Сентинелов) по поводу пусков "Рокотами" и "Днепрами"...и аналогичные гарантийные письма идут в ответ.
Разница в том, что иногда СМИ по этому поводу надо "вбросить", а обычно - нет.
Название: Iridium NEXT.
Отправлено: Старый от 31.07.2015 23:30:05
ЦитироватьSOE пишет: Первые два аппарата, выводимые "Днепром" не то что дополнительного ничего не могут нести, они, скорее всего, основную полезную нагрузку имеют весьма и весьма урезанную. Иначе возможности РН тупо не позволяют их вывести.
А ничего дополнительного и не надо. Военные пользуются штатными телефонами. 
Суть в том что если бы Пентагон не выкупил компанию то она бы обанкротилась и военные не смогли бы ею пользоваться. А им нужно. 
Название: Iridium NEXT.
Отправлено: Александр Ч. от 07.08.2015 16:14:43
Цитировать(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/185524.jpg)Peter B. de Selding ‏@pbdes  (https://twitter.com/pbdes) 19 минут назад (https://twitter.com/pbdes/status/629637222786949120)
Harris: Recent contracts inc $55M from exactEarth for AIS on IRDM sats; $45M Army satcom terminals; $38M foundation geoint content mgement.
Название: Iridium NEXT.
Отправлено: Александр Ч. от 29.10.2015 16:39:09
ЦитироватьPeter B. de Selding ‏@pbdes  (https://twitter.com/pbdes) 2 ч.2 часа назад (https://twitter.com/pbdes/status/659697360889626624)
Iridium: 1st 2 Iridium Next 2d-gen sats to launch in April on Russian/Ukrainian Dnepr rocket. Then 7 10-sat SpaceX Falcon 9s in 2016-2017.

Peter B. de Selding ‏@pbdes  (https://twitter.com/pbdes) 2 ч.2 часа назад (https://twitter.com/pbdes/status/659707355605651456)
IRDM 2d-gen sched, 1st 2-sat launch in April, appears to mean 7 SpaceX Falcon 9 launches, 10 sats each, between Aug 2016 & end 2017.

Peter B. de Selding ‏@pbdes  (https://twitter.com/pbdes) 3 ч.3 часа назад (https://twitter.com/pbdes/status/659702166911848448)
IRDM insurance(2): Lenders OKd no need to insure full 72-sat, 8-launch constellation before 1st launch; only 1st 3 launches. Other 5 later.
Название: Iridium NEXT.
Отправлено: azeast от 29.10.2015 20:57:47
И по-русски написали:
Американские спутники Iridium запустят в апреле 2016 года на российско-украинской конверсионной ракете "Днепр" (РС-20 "Сатана" ), полностью группировка будет развернута в 2017 году, сообщили в американской компании Iridium.

РИА Новости http://ria.ru/space/20151029/1310199628.html#ixzz3pyfDf0ce
Название: Iridium NEXT.
Отправлено: Salo от 30.10.2015 12:36:07
http://spacenews.com/component-issue-delays-iridium-next-launches-by-four-months/
ЦитироватьComponent Issue Delays Iridium Next Launches by Four Months
by Peter B. de Selding (http://spacenews.com/author/peter-b-de-selding/) — October 29, 2015
(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/155442.jpg)
"This is particularly frustrating in that it should have been caught and resolved much earlier in development," Iridium Chief Executive Matthew J. Desch said. "In light of previous program delays, Thales Alenia knows — quite clearly — my disappointment." Credit: Iridium  
 
PARIS — Mobile satellite services provider Iridium Communications on Oct. 29 said the inaugural launch of its second-generation constellation had slipped again and now will not occur before April.
The delay, from December, will automatically push the second launch — of 10 satellites on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket — back by four months, to August. Iridium's insurers want the company to test the performance of the first two satellites, to launch on a Russian-Ukrainian Dnepr rocket, for several months before launching the rest of the constellation.
Iridium said it had concluded an agreement with its creditors on a revised insurance regime for the launches — one that will relieve Iridium of a near-term cash expenditure but add the risk of higher-priced insurance if one of the company's early launches were to fail.
Under the latest schedule, the Dnepr launch of two Iridium Next satellites in April will be followed, in August, by the first of seven lridium launches on Hawthorne, California-based SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California. Each Falcon 9 will carry 10 Iridium Next satellites.
McLean, Virginia-based Iridium is counting on SpaceX's being able to conduct launches every two months or so, which would mean all seven would be completed by September 2017.
In a conference call with investors, Iridium Chief Executive Matthew J. Desch made no attempt to hide his exasperation at the latest delay, especially because it was caused by a component that had posed issues for prime contractor Thales Alenia Space previously.
The component, built by ViaSat Inc. of Carlsbad, California, is an extension of a Ka-band transmit/receive module. This hardware already had been associated with production delays on Iridium Next.
"Thales now appears to have found an issue during post-assembly testing of this same T/R module," Desch said. The defect "could create performance problems in the Ka-band downlink to our Earth stations."
Thales Alenia Space of France and Italy will now change the circuitry in the module and then reinstall it onto the first two satellites to launch on Dnepr.
"This is particularly frustrating in that it should have been caught and resolved much earlier in development," Desch said. "In light of previous program delays, Thales Alenia knows — quite clearly — my disappointment."
 (https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/155496.jpg) (http://spacenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/IridiumNext_Iridium4X3-879x485.jpg)
Under the latest schedule, the Dnepr launch of two Iridium Next satellites in April will be followed, in August, by the first of seven lridium launches on SpaceX's Falcon 9. Credit: Iridium

Thales Alenia Space issued a statement Oct. 29 saying the technical issues surrounding the transmit/receive module have been resolved. The company said it was accelerating the Iridium Next production rate to be ready for the follow-on launches after the inaugural flight and to assure that the full 72-satellite constellation is deployed by the end of 2017.
Desch said Iridium's current satellites, all well past their expected retirement dates, remain healthy and that a recent assessment of their status given the new launch schedule has found no reason to doubt that a smooth transition will take place with no disturbance to Iridium's subscribers.
"We monitor and measure network performance on a daily basis through more than 1,000 calls, testing signal strength, call routing, connectivity and duration," Desch said during the conference call.
Under an amended agreement with its lenders, Iridium is no longer obliged to secure insurance for the full constellation before the first launch. Instead, it must assemble coverage for the first three launches — the Dnepr and the first two SpaceX Falcon 9 launches — at least three months before the Dnepr flight.
The insurance will cover the satellites' launch plus their first year in orbit. If one of the first two Falcon 9 rockets fails, Iridium will use the nine spare satellites Thales Alenia Space is already building for a replacement flight, plus a 10th satellite that will be financed by the insurance claim along with a fresh launch.
No later than three months before the third SpaceX flight, Iridium must have purchased coverage for all five remaining launches.
A failure of one or two satellites on each of these launches will not be covered by insurance. But if a third satellite fails, insurers will pay a claim for all three — or more — plus a pro rata share of the launch costs.
Iridium Next has been budgeted at $3 billion, including a $2.3 billion contract with Thales Alenia Space for 81 satellites, of which $1.5 billion had been paid as of Sept. 30. The SpaceX launch contract is budgeted at $453.1 million for seven launches of 10 satellites each, of which $188 million had been paid as of Sept. 30, Iridium said in an Oct. 29 filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
Iridium has paid SpaceX an additional $3 million to reserve future launches and has secured an extremely low-priced reflight in the event of a Falcon 9 failure.
The Dnepr flight is costing Iridium $51.8 million — $34 million of which has already been paid. In June, Iridium replaced the expired option for two additional Dnepr flights with an option for up to six additional Dnepr launches. Launches will occur from Russia's Yasny spaceport.
Название: Iridium NEXT.
Отправлено: Александр Ч. от 11.11.2015 16:22:20
Radio bug to keep new Iridium satellites grounded until April (http://spaceflightnow.com/2015/11/10/radio-bug-to-keep-new-iridium-satellites-grounded-until-april/)
ЦитироватьThe first launch for Iridium's next-generation mobile communications fleet has been pushed back four months — from December until April — to resolve a technical problem inside the spacecraft's Ka-band communications payload.
Название: Iridium NEXT.
Отправлено: Новый от 03.03.2016 18:45:39
Есть ощущение, что Космотрас окончательно потерял этот контракт.
Название: Iridium NEXT.
Отправлено: Димитър от 04.03.2016 12:25:11
ЦитироватьНовый пишет:
Есть ощущение, что Космотрас окончательно потерял этот контракт.
Нa spaceflightnow больше старт на Днепре не стоит. В июле Фалкон-9 должен вывести первые 10 спутников, в октябре - следующие 10.
Название: Iridium NEXT.
Отправлено: PIN от 04.03.2016 13:38:09
Иридиум "кинул" Еврокот с Рокотом, теперь Космотрас с Днепром кинул Иридиум. Не так сильно, конечно.Но как мог.
Название: Iridium NEXT.
Отправлено: Alex_II от 05.03.2016 10:06:04
ЦитироватьSOE пишет:
Иридиум "кинул" Еврокот с Рокотом, теперь Космотрас с Днепром кинул Иридиум.
Так лихо кинул, что денег в результате потерял? Бизнесмены, чо...
Название: Iridium NEXT.
Отправлено: PIN от 05.03.2016 11:41:43
ЦитироватьAlex_II пишет:
что денег в результате потерял
Маража по "бумажным" работам, связанным с подготовкой запуска может быть немалой. А по остальному - околонулевая в нынешних реалиях Космотраса.
Название: Iridium NEXT.
Отправлено: Salo от 14.06.2016 23:49:40
http://investor.iridium.com/releasedetail.cfm?ReleaseID=975723
ЦитироватьJun 14, 2016
First Iridium NEXT Satellites Declared Ready for Shipment and Launch Date Announced

Thales Alenia Space completes satellite assembly and testing at Orbital ATK Facility and prepares them for delivery to launch site at Vandenberg Air Force Base
MCLEAN, Va., June 14, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Iridium Communications Inc. (Nasdaq:IRDM) today announced that its first Iridium NEXT satellites have completed assembly and testing, and are now prepared for shipment to the launch site at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. The shipment of these satellites represents a significant milestone toward the first launch of the Iridium NEXT constellation, which the company officially announced as targeted for September 12, 2016.
"This is a really exciting milestone. After more than seven years of effort, the first of our next-generation satellites are finally ready for space," said Matt Desch, chief executive officer, Iridium. "It has been fantastic to witness our satellites evolve from manufacturing designs to fully functioning vehicles, and we congratulate everyone involved in making this goal possible.  This program replaces the largest commercial satellite constellation in space with state-of-the-art technology and new capabilities, allowing Iridium to support the connectivity needs of today, as well as those yet to be imagined."
Assembly, integration and testing of the satellites are performed by Thales Alenia Space and their subcontractor, Orbital ATK, at the Orbital ATK manufacturing facility in Gilbert, Ariz. The production process incorporates a unique, assembly line system consisting of 18 different work stations ranging from panel integration and payload testing to full satellite integration, solar array installations and alignment checks. Each satellite features more than 5,000 individual parts assembled, culminating in one hundred thousand hours of workmanship by hundreds of engineers. A total of 81 satellites are scheduled to roll off of this assembly line, with 66 serving as the operational satellites to replace the existing Iridium® network, and the remainder serving as ground and on-orbit spares.
Following assembly and integration, the first satellites underwent a series of tests to ensure the vehicles met design specifications, as well as production tests to verify the quality of the manufacturing process. Some of those tests included vibration and acoustic testing, which simulated the movement and sound pressures experienced during the launch, while thermal vacuum tests created the temperature extremes the satellites will face while in orbit. These tests allowed the engineers to confirm that the satellites would withstand the launch and operate successfully when deployed.
"The scale and complexity of the Iridium NEXT constellation is unprecedented in the satellite community outside of Iridium, requiring that the engineers balance delivering high-quality satellites designed for high-rate manufacturing, with a unique fully processed payload while maintaining an efficient schedule," said Bertrand Maureau, executive vice president of telecommunication at Thales Alenia Space. "We're thrilled to ship the first batch of Iridium NEXT satellites, as they represent the culmination of the team consortium work including worldwide partners and all the main Thales Alenia Space entities."
Along with measuring the quality of the satellite production, the testing phases helped validate that the assembly line is fully qualified to move to high-rate production. During the last three months, the number of assembly, integration and testing engineers working on Iridium NEXT has doubled at Orbital ATK's facility. With the vast resources and aerospace engineering talent in the Phoenix area, the team plans on adding another 30 engineers as production increases to complete more than five satellites per month. 
"The Iridium NEXT production process features a unique assembly-line approach inspired by the production of Iridium's initial constellation which launched over 19 years ago," said Frank Culbertson, president of Orbital ATK's Space Systems Group. "While certain stations require more hours of efforts than others, each represents a critical step toward delivering a fully functioning Iridium NEXT satellite. Now that we have standardized the entire process, we are excited to ramp up the production rate to meet Iridium's needs and support the successful completion of a truly transformative program."
The first two completed Iridium NEXT satellites are being shipped to Vandenberg Air Force Base for processing by Iridium's launch partner, SpaceX. As the remaining eight first-launch satellites are completed, they will also be shipped two at a time to the launch site.  While the satellites will be ready by August, the earliest launch date available to Iridium from SpaceX and Vandenberg Air Force Base is September 12th.  During processing, Orbital ATK is responsible for fueling the satellites, while also performing software validation and testing to ensure the satellites integrate properly with the SpaceX Falcon 9 rockets. The Iridium NEXT satellites represent SpaceX's heaviest payload to date.
All Iridium NEXT satellites are scheduled for launch by late 2017.  Starting in 2018, the Iridium NEXT constellation will enable Aireon's satellite-based system to provide global aircraft surveillance in real time. Iridium and SpaceX have partnered for a series of seven launches, with ten Iridium NEXT satellites deployed at a time. For more information on Iridium NEXT, go to www.iridium.com (http://www.globenewswire.com/Tracker?data=0NF0_5ahqzcSbM_TVWKk1X-EOZj6Tu_CMJazaVVT1TFtGNFjKjfdkGzB-AYl_tM6AiG04qWFaLqVPxBhtITmdw==).

About Iridium Communications Inc.
Iridium is the only mobile voice and data satellite communications network that spans the entire globe. Iridium enables connections between people, organizations and assets to and from anywhere, in real time. Together with its ecosystem of partner
companies, Iridium delivers an innovative and rich portfolio of reliable solutions for markets that require truly global communications. The company has a major development program underway for its next-generation network — Iridium NEXT. Iridium Communications Inc. is headquartered in McLean, Va., U.S.A., and its common stock trades on the NASDAQ Global Sel ect Market under the ticker symbol IRDM. For more information about Iridium products, services and partner solutions, visit www.iridium.com (http://www.globenewswire.com/Tracker?data=0NF0_5ahqzcSbM_TVWKk1QYtz_AuYaVE4RiuYITRLCL8dZ4kqTumTWYFiZACrZzZVcAHFo57eed2P2EMJ4q39APCrEb5lOD_FTZtNFpZ2ZNHleH90VrWNTE7DNq-BwlqgsoZfBwZ34qzPUu5eG6HgIvLmIaR57opUOQ4XKFScgeTzohsLPpVGsH2FDv74TpyvLAaVcJIZTu5MsMT184ZqyV3SWCl6TXH35_ij0NUfBQ=).

About Thales Alenia Space
Thales Alenia Space, a joint venture between Thales (67%) and Finmeccanica (33%), is a key European player in space telecommunications, navigation, Earth observation, exploration and orbital infrastructures. Thales Alenia Space and Telespazio form the two parent companies' "Space Alliance", which offers a complete range of services and solutions. Because of its unrivaled expertise in dual (civil/military) missions, constellations, flexible payloads, altimetry, meteorology and high-resolution optical and radar instruments, Thales Alenia Space is the natural partner to countries that want to expand their space program. The company posted consolidated revenues of 2.1 billion euros in 2015, and has 7,500 employees in eight countries. www.thalesaleniaspace.com (http://www.globenewswire.com/Tracker?data=MAoGSSD21VL04gTfRbEovpaVLCp_avWZcrZC0i_W80pY2HfFmpVJs-RGH1GR5ZenpemeVnWBFBU8UPI0JlrA-BzBLEIZcXImfOwxwHYKNUU=)

About Orbital ATK
Orbital ATK is a global leader in aerospace and defense technologies. The company designs, builds and delivers space, defense and aviation systems for customers around the world, both as a prime contractor and merchant supplier. Its main products include launch vehicles and related propulsion systems; missile products, subsystems and defense electronics; precision weapons, armament systems and ammunition; satellites and associated space components and services; and advanced aerospace structures. Headquartered in Dulles, Virginia, Orbital ATK employs approximately 12,000 people in 18 states across the U.S. and in several international locations. For more information, visit www.orbitalatk.com (http://www.globenewswire.com/Tracker?data=Vw3Tuqv7e-xt_R3gHLPuGmZ1AFKq3deOggHq5OlKBIMIbatm4jTaD33neDPlXASxGCjrrAMrh6PkUTTcDToJPSMbM05ycmu1w54P8bSCMSg=). 

Forward-Looking Statements
Statements in this press release that are not purely historical facts may constitute forward-looking statements as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The Company has based these statements on its current expectations and the information currently available to us. Forward-looking statements in this presentation include statements regarding the development, launch and capabilities of the Iridium NEXT constellation. Forward-looking statements can be identified by the words "anticipates," "may," "can," "believes," "expects," "projects," "intends," "likely," "will," "to be" and other expressions that are predictions or indicate future events, trends or prospects. These forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of Iridium to differ materially from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, uncertainties regarding development, launch and functionality of Iridium NEXT, potential delays in the Iridium NEXT deployment, and the company's ability to maintain the health, capacity and content of its satellite constellation, as well as general industry and economic conditions, and competitive, legal, governmental and technological factors. Other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated by the forward-looking statements include those factors listed under the caption "Risk Factors" in the Company's Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2015, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission ("the SEC"  ) on February 25, 2016, as well as other filings Iridium makes with the SEC from time to time. There is no assurance that Iridium's expectations will be realized. If one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or if Iridium's underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially fr om those expected, estimated or projected. Iridium's forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this press release, and Iridium undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking statements.
Название: Iridium NEXT.
Отправлено: Salo от 14.06.2016 23:52:52
Цитировать (https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/185524.jpg) Peter B. de Selding ‏@pbdes  (https://twitter.com/pbdes)  33 мин.33 минуты назад (https://twitter.com/pbdes/status/742813541732737024)  
Here are 2 of first IRDM Next sats to launch mid-Sept on SpaceX. White boxes are Harris hosted payload structures.
 (https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/158425.jpg)
 
  (https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/185524.jpg) Peter B. de Selding ‏@pbdes  (https://twitter.com/pbdes)  41 мин.41 минуту назад (https://twitter.com/pbdes/status/742811664282615808)  
Iridium CEO Desch: We've purchased 7 new Falcon 9s, no reusable stages in the mix. We think our Sept launch is next SpaceX launch from VAFB.
 
  (https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/185524.jpg) Peter B. de Selding ‏@pbdes  (https://twitter.com/pbdes)  3 ч.3 часа назад (https://twitter.com/pbdes/status/742769391788556288)  
IRDM CEO Desch: Delay of 1st launch to 12 Sept due to crowded VAFB manifest, not to satellite or SpaceX issues.
 
  (https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/185524.jpg) Peter B. de Selding ‏@pbdes  (https://twitter.com/pbdes)  4 ч.4 часа назад (https://twitter.com/pbdes/status/742754361227501568)  
Iridium says 1st SpaceX launch of 10 2nd generation sats planned for 12 Sept from VAFB, not July as previously targeted.
Название: Iridium NEXT.
Отправлено: Олег от 14.06.2016 23:30:40
А блестеть эти Next так же будут ?
Ведь основное назначение Iridium - пускать " зайчики " 
Название: Iridium NEXT.
Отправлено: Apollo13 от 15.06.2016 10:43:22
http://spacenews.com/iridiums-spacex-launch-slowed-by-vandenberg-bottleneck/

ЦитироватьIridium's SpaceX launch slowed by Vandenberg bottleneck

by Peter B. de Selding (http://spacenews.com/author/peter-b-de-selding/) — June 15, 2016


(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/155630.jpg)

Two of the first 10 Iridium Next second-generation satellites are readied for shipment to California for a Space X launch now scheduled for Sept. 12 at the earliest. Credit: Iridium


GILBERT, Arizona — Mobile satellite services provider Iridium Communications on June 14 said the launch of the first 10 second-generation Iridium Next satellites had slipped by another month, to Sept. 12 at the earliest, because of bottlenecks at the Vandenberg Air Force Base spaceport.
Iridium Chief Executive Matt Desch said the company still expected to launch all 70 Iridium Next satellites, on seven SpaceX Falcon 9 rockets, by late 2017.
Addressing a briefing here originally scheduled to mark the shipment of the first two satellites by truck to the launch base – the shipment will now be delayed a couple of weeks – Desch said satellite production and SpaceX readiness both had been ready for an August launch.
"It's a little later than I had hoped, to be honest. But there are a number of non-SpaceX launches planned in August and early September at Vandenberg, so that's the earliest they could give us for this launch," Desch said. "SpaceX is ready, the [satellite] dispenser is ready."
Hawthorne, California-based SpaceX is building the 1,000-kilogram dispenser that will separate the 10 satellites into or bit on release from the rocket.

Each Iridium Next satellite will weigh 860 kilograms at launch, for a total satellite payload mass of 8,600 kilograms, plus the 1,000-kilogram dispenser, which will make it one of heavier missions for SpaceX. The satellites will be deployed into a 780-kilometer-altitude orbit to replace the current constellation, launched in the late 1990s.
Iridium has ordered 81 satellites from Thales Alenia Space of France and Italy. Orbital ATK of Dulles, Virginia, is responsible for the satellites' final assembly, integration and testing at its facility here, which was built for the Iridium work.
McLean, Virginia-based Iridium had hired Orbital to perform final assembly at a time when the company hoped to include small U.S. military hosted payloads aboard the Iridium constellation as rideshare passengers.
That did not happen, but Harris Corp. of Melbourne, Florida, has designed a distinctive white module for several hosted payloads, including the Iridium-affiliated Aireon's aircraft flight-tracking system. The Harris module, on the Iridium Next satellites' Earth-facing side, will also house a commercial maritime surveillance payload for exactEarth of Canada.
Having a European prime contractor work with a U.S. company handling final assembly required Orbital to create a Foreign Trade Zone here.
Frank Culbertson, president of Orbital's Space Systems Group, said the designation allowed Orbital and Thales Alenia Space to move satellite components between Europe and the United States more easily than would have been the case otherwise.
"It allows the components to come in as foreign components," Culbertson. "In the end, it's all one system but if we needed to send something back for rework this allows us to do that much more simply and with less overhead."
Under U.S. technology transfer rules, often referred to as ITAR regulations, or the International Traffic in Arms Regulations, rules that had specific application to satellite components, a European-built component would be treated as having U.S. origin once it arrived on U.S. territory.
That would mean, for example, that a lot of paperwork would need to be filed to return hardware to Thales Alenia Space, when needed for rework, because it would bear the ITAR stamp.
The ITAR regulations as applied to satellites were substantially relaxed in late 2014. It was not clear whether this relaxation had any noticeable effect on day-to-day working conditions between the Thales and Orbital engineers. Culbertson expressed thanks to local and federal U.S. government authorities for accepting and facilitating "something as complicated as a Foreign Trade Zone [that] could be set up here and keep things moving through the factory in a safe, legal and efficient way."
Bertrand Maureau, vice president for telecommunications at Thales Alenia Space, said his company knew at the outset that complete compliance to ITAR regulations would have to be assured. "This was one of the drivers" of the way Thales Alenia Space and Orbital structured their work relations, he said.
Iridium had originally scheduled the first Iridium Next launch to be two satellites on board a Russian-Ukrainian Dnepr converted missile operated from Russian territory. But the Dnepr vehicle's immediate future is unclear and the company was obliged to start with a 10-satellite SpaceX launch.
Desch said Iridium had received no word on when Dnepr might be available, if ever, for the Iridium launch. He said Iridium would nonetheless launch all 11 spare satellites, with launch vehicles yet to be determined. "The best place for a spare satellite is in orbit, not in storage," Desch said.
Iridium's creditors have insisted that the company secure full insurance for the first two SpaceX launches. Desch said that had been completed.
The creditors and Iridium's insurance underwriters had also asked that the first batch of satellites be tested for three months in orbit before a second batch was launched, to verify their design and performance.
That would mean a second launch no earlier than December, at the earliest. Desch said Iridium's goal of having all Iridium Next satellites in service by the end of 2017 would be a challenge but was still feasible.
9600 кг на орбиту 780 км. Диспенсер производства SpaceX.
Название: Iridium NEXT.
Отправлено: Salo от 15.06.2016 15:06:58
http://ria.ru/science/20160615/1448050041.html
ЦитироватьКомпания Iridium произведет запуск своих спутников не раньше 12 сентября
14:52 15.06.2016
 
МОСКВА, 15 июн — РИА Новости. Американская компания Iridium Communications заявила, что запуск первых десяти телекоммуникационных спутников Iridium Next откладывается и будет произведен не раньше 12 сентября из-за затруднений на военно-воздушной базе Ванденберг в американском штате Калифорния, сообщил портал Spacenews (http://spacenews.com).
Ранее сообщалось, что первые десять спутников Iridium Next будут отправлены на орбиту в июле, следующий запуск состоится в октябре, остальные пять будут проходить с периодичностью в два месяца, а всего запланировано 7 запусков Falcon 9.
 Генеральный директор Iridium Мэттью Дэш пояснил, что компания все еще рассчитывает запустить все 70 спутников нового поколения на семи ракетах Falcon 9 американской компании SpaceX  к концу 2017 года. Первые два спутника уже должны были быть доставлены на базу Ванденберг, однако доставка откладывается на несколько недель.
"Если честно, это немного позже, чем я надеялся. В августе и начале сентября на базе Ванденберг планируется несколько запусков не SpaceX, так что это самая ранняя дата, которую нам смогли выделить для запуска", — заявил Дэш на брифинге.
Ранее сообщалось, что компания на протяжении нескольких месяцев ожидала официального разрешения со стороны России на запуск спутников Iridium Next с пусковой базы "Ясный" позиционного района "Домбаровский" в Оренбургской области, однако ответа так и не поступило и Iridium отказалась от идеи запуска своих спутников на российско-украинской конверсионной ракете "Днепр".
Название: Iridium NEXT.
Отправлено: Salo от 15.07.2016 01:08:47
http://spaceflightnow.com/2016/07/13/iridium-satellites-rolling-off-assembly-line-in-arizona/
ЦитироватьIridium satellites rolling off assembly line in Arizona             
 July 13, 2016 (http://spaceflightnow.com/2016/07/) Stephen Clark (http://spaceflightnow.com/author/stephen-clark/)
 (https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/155030.jpg) (https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/155030.jpg)
The first two fully-complete Iridium Next satellites. Credit: Stephen Clark/Spaceflight Now

Construction is complete on the first batch of 81 new satellites to overhaul Iridium's mobile communications network, and the data relay stations will soon head fr om their factory near Phoenix to California's hilly Central Coast for launch in September on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket.
The satellites will be shipped in pairs on a truck to Vandenberg Air Force Base, where they will be fueled and mated with the Falcon 9 launcher for liftoff at 10:33 p.m. PDT on Sept. 11 (0533 GMT; 1:33 a.m. EDT on Sept. 12) fr om Space Launch Complex 4-East.
The flight will mark the third Falcon 9 launch from Vandenberg, and the first launch from there of an upgraded "full-thrust" version of the booster with higher-power Merlin engines and super-chilled propellants. SpaceX is finishing up modifications to the launch pad this summer to support the latest Falcon 9 configuration.
Launching 10 at a time, each Iridium satellite weighs about 1,896 pounds (860 kilograms). The satellites, combined with their specially-designed dispenser developed by SpaceX, will among the heaviest payloads ever launched by a Falcon 9 rocket.
Iridium declared the first two of its next-generation mobile communications satellites complete last month, with plans to finish assembly of one more spacecraft per week through late 2017.
"One a week is an amazing achievement of satellite production and something new in the world, and something that people are striving for in the future," said Frank Culbertson, president of the space systems group at Orbital ATK, which oversees final assembly of the Iridium Next spacecraft under an agreement with the satellite prime contractor Thales Alenia Space. "We're breaking new ground and setting a good example."
The Iridium Next program is a $3 billion investment by Iridium, according to Matt Desch, Iridium's chief executive officer. Iridium's purchase of 81 satellites represents approximately $2.2 billion of that cost, Desch said, and the company's launch contract with SpaceX for seven Falcon 9 flights was valued at $492 million when the parties signed it in 2010.
That was the largest commercial launch contract in history until last year's 21-launch order by satellite Internet provider OneWeb with Arianespace.
The first 10 Iridium Next satellites will fly on a Falcon 9 rocket in September, followed by a second launch as soon as December with the next batch. Iridium managers will give the go-ahead for the second launch once the first 10 satellites finish initial in-orbit tests, Desch said.
The other five launches should occur about once every two months next year to fill out the Iridium Next fleet 485 miles (780 kilometers) above Earth. Iridium's contract with SpaceX calls for all the missions to fly on newly-built Falcon 9s, a situation unlikely to change any time soon since insurance arrangements for the initial launches have been finalized.
But Desch said he is open to purchasing reused Falcon 9 boosters in the future "if they're the right price."
 (https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/155034.jpg) (https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/155034.jpg)
Seven Falcon 9 rocket flights will loft 10 Iridium Next satellites at a time over the next year-and-a-half. This picture is from a qualification test of a SpaceX-made dispenser to hold the satellites during launch inside the Falcon 9 fairing. Credit: Iridium

"It's going to be a very, very busy 18 months as many, many things have to happen literally hour-by-hour and day-by-day to make that happen, but I'm very confident and increasingly pleased with the progress made," Desch said last month during a media tour of the Iridium Next satellite factory in Gilbert, Arizona.
Iridium hoped to have the first 10 satellites in orbit by July, but Desch said the Air Force-operated range at Vandenberg was unavailable until September. The Air Force said renovations of facilities for the Joint Space Operations Center and the Joint Functional Component Command for Space at Vandenberg will take the West Coast launch site offline through August.
The relocation of range systems from one building to another has kept launches grounded at Vandenberg since March. The move will free up room to consolidate military commanders with personnel charged with tracking thousands of objects in space, the orbital traffic cops who catalog new satellites and space junk to help prevent dangerous collisions.
"There's a big backlog of commercial and government customers they're trying to get off, and they're trying to fit all that in and do the best they can with it," Desch said.
Other launches waiting for the Air Force's Western Range to re-open include a United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 flight with the commercial WorldView 4 Earth observatory set for Sept. 15, and an Orbital ATK Minotaur-C rocket launch in October with six Earth-viewing satellites for Google's Terra Bella subsidiary.
"It's a little disappointing," Desch said. "I thought it would happen a couple of weeks earlier, but still we're within the realm of time to get the whole network complete in 2017."
The first two Iridium Next satellites off the assembly line, numbered No. 1 and No. 3, were originally supposed to launch from Russia on a Dnepr rocket, a modified Soviet-era ballistic missile marketed for commercial launches by Kosmotras, a Russian-Ukrainian joint venture.
But with relations soured between those countries, the future of the Dnepr program is in doubt, and the Russian government has reportedly ordered a halt to future Dnepr launches. Iridium shuffled its launch schedule to begin launching the next-generation spacecraft on the Falcon 9, disrupting plans to initially place two pathfinder satellites in orbit for testing.
Desch said he is confident SpaceX will be ready to deploy the first 10 Iridium Next satellites in September. The company has a busy Falcon 9 launch manifest, with missions due at a rate of more than once per month, but the Iridium flight is the next SpaceX launch from Vandenberg.
"We're really on a separate queue out at Vandenberg, so we really are the priority for SpaceX out there, and they'll get us off as soon as Vandenberg lets us go," Desch said.
SpaceX officials said earlier this year that technicians are updating ground facilities at the Vandenberg launch site for the latest version of the Falcon 9, which stands about five feet taller and burns colder propellants.
 (https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/155033.jpg) (https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/155033.jpg)
Artist's illustration of an Iridium Next satellite, with key components labeled. Credit: Iridium

Iridium sel ected Thales Alenia Space as prime contractor for the company's 81 Iridium Next satellites. Orbital ATK manages assembly and launch preparations for the spacecraft.
Bertrand Maureau, vice president of telecommunications at Thales Alenia Space, offered figures to quantify the complexity and scale of building so many satellites.
The communications payloads on the 81 satellites required the production of 14,000 transmit-receive modules, devices which link the orbiting platforms with each other via cross-links and feed signals to ground stations, Maureau said.
Developers wrote approximately 500,000 lines of software code for the Iridium Next project, he said.
"This is a real-time, fully-processed payload, which means that every message between all the satellites, the ground, gateways and the users — all satellites of the constellation, one satellite to another — are managed in real time thanks to state-of-the-art hardware and software components," Maureau said.
Each satellite has its own digital switchboard.
The Iridium Next satellites will replace the company's aging space fleet, most of which launched before 2000.
"These satellites have even greater functionality and faster broadband speeds," Desch said.
For example, 3G cellular services will be supported by the Iridium next fleet.
The operational Iridium constellation requires 66 satellites — 11 spacecraft in six orbital planes — for global coverage serving more than 800,000 subscribers.
Enough Iridium Next satellites should be launched by the end of 2017 to fully replace the first-generation fleet, allowing controllers to retire and de-orbit the old spacecraft. Iridium has launch contracts with SpaceX and Kosmotras for 72 satellites, but Desch said the company plans to eventually launch all 81 birds.
The Iridium satellites relay phone calls and messages around the world, bouncing signals from satellite-to-satellite for clients like the U.S. military, maritime and aviation companies, oil and gas operators, and customers in construction, forestry, agriculture and mining.
"Thales Alenia designed a new satellite to our specification consisting of something like 5,000 individual parts that Orbital ATK has assembled and tested, and comprising, over the overall program, something like 100,000 hours of workmanship by hundreds of engineers," Desch said.
Iridium and Orbital ATK showed off the Gilbert, Arizona, factory for Iridium Next to reporters last month.
Nearly 20 satellites were in various stages of assembly on a production floor with multiple stations, wh ere engineers add components like antennas, solar arrays and reaction wheels, then test each spacecraft's resiliency to the wild temperature swings of low Earth orbit.
"What you are seeing ... is a very unique way of making satellites," Desch said. "This isn't the way it is done elsewh ere. In fact, the last time it was done this way was 20 years ago, when Iridium created its first constellation."
It takes between 40 and 50 days to assemble one satellite in the Arizona factory specially built for the Iridium Next program, officials said. At that rate, five satellites should roll off the assembly line every month.
"We are talking about something like an aircraft production line," Maureau said. "It's absolutely unusual to produce such a high number of satellites."
The new satellites benefit two decades of lessons learned since the original fleet deployed in the 1990s, and an Iridium test site a few miles fr om the Orbital ATK satellite plant near Phoenix is already demonstrating the performance of the Iridium Next satellites.
A stand-in spacecraft housed in a high-tech laboratory there is routing thousands of mock phone calls while engineers track its performance.
"This time around, with all that experience we've gained over the last 25 years in this program, we've got a much more powerful satellite, and we are really ready to go right now with some very sophisticated and powerful satellites," Desch said.
A defect inside the satellites' Ka-band transmit-receive modules discovered last year delayed the first Iridium Next launch four months.
The problem caused Iridium to miss its long-projected 2015 launch date for the first new-generation satellites, but the delay allowed engineers to finish software validations, and the spacecraft will now launch with all features verified, officials said.
Iridium officials said the satellites are each designed to last at least 15 years, and with proper sparing, the Iridium Next constellation could last into the mid-2030s.
Название: Iridium NEXT.
Отправлено: Salo от 28.07.2016 23:32:57
http://spacenews.com/iridium-negotiates-payment-delays-with-lenders-contractor-to-mitigate-aireon-shortfall/
ЦитироватьIridium negotiates payment delays with lenders, contractor to mitigate Aireon shortfall
by Peter B. de Selding (http://spacenews.com/author/peter-b-de-selding/) — July 28, 2016
  (https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/155637.jpg)
Launch of Iridium's second-generation constellation will start on Sept. 19 aboard SpaceX Falcon 9 rockets, a week later than planned, with the second launch automatically pushed to late December. Credit: Iridium  
 
PARIS – Mobile satellite services provider Iridium Communications on July 28 said it had opened negotiations with its lenders and its satellite manufacturer to reduce or delay Iridium payments in the event Iridium's Aireon air traffic surveillance affiliate cannot make its scheduled payment to Iridium.
The company said Aireon may have trouble paying Iridium $200 million in cash between 2016 and 2017, in part because some expected Aireon customers, including the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), had not yet committed to the service.
In a conference call with investors, Iridium Chief Executive Matthew J. Desch said he saw no special issue with the FAA, which had already signaled its interest in the Aireon.
"It's more a matter of when, not if," Desch said of an FAA contract with Aireon. "It's how much [airspace] they will survey, and when, and it's looking more like a 2017 event rather than a 2016 event."
First SpaceX launch of Iridium Next slips to Sept. 19
McLean, Virginia-based Iridium said the first launch of its second-generation constellation of satellites, called Iridium Next, had slipped again, this time at the request of launch-service provider SpaceX of Hawthorne, California.
Iridium now expects the launch of the first 10 Iridium Next satellites to occur on Sept. 19 from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California, aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9.
The delay is the latest in a series attributed to the Iridium Next satellites and, more recently, to scheduled maintenance at the launch base and the site's launch manifest.
A week's slip in a launch is not normally an issue for a satellite fleet operator. But for Iridium, it means an automatic delay in the second SpaceX Iridium launch, which for insurance and debt-covenant reasons cannot occur until three months following the first launch. That means a second launch no earlier than late December.
After that, the five remaining SpaceX launches should occur at 60-day intervals, Desch said.
Desch said SpaceX had assured Iridium that the December launch would occur on schedule.
"It's a little hard for me to be patient with these ongoing short delays, but we're getting very close and I'm sure it will all be worth it with a successful launch under our belts," Desch said.
Iridium said in a July 28 filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) that it had lost two first-generation satellites in the three months ending June 30. The company said it had no in-orbit spares in the affected orbital plane but that Iridium customers should see no reduction in service quality.
But the disclosure highlighted why Iridium is sensitive to any issues that would delay the replacement of the first constellation, which is long past its contracted service life.
Iridium looks to delay payments to creditors and satellite builder
Iridium is counting on Aireon payments to help repay Iridium debt and fund operations once the company's large credit facility, backed by France's Coface export-credit agency, is exhausted.
Aireon's payment comes in the form of a one-time, $200 million hosting fee in return for Iridium mounting the Aireon air traffic surveillance payloads on all Iridium Next satellites.
Desch said Harris Corp. of Melbourne, Florida, had delivered the Aireon payloads in June, ahead of schedule. They are now being mounted onto the satellites before shipment to the launch site.
Iridium Chief Financial Officer Thomas J. Fitzpatrick said during the conference call that Iridium is negotiating with Iridium Next prime contractor Thales Alenia Space of France and Italy on delaying a portion of the milestone payments until beyond 2017. Fitzpatrick also noted that $150 million in milestone payments for Thales Alenia Space have also shifted from 2016 into 2017.
Iridium is in parallel negotiating with its lenders on delaying or reducing payments into a debt-service account, which under the loan covenants must be maintained at a certain level.
The third source of funding to cover the Aireon shortfall would be to skip quarterly dividend payments to owners of Iridium's preferred stock.
Fitzpatrick said these measures could mean Iridium reaches its highest debt-to-gross profit level in 2017 rather than in 2016, but that the company would still remain well under the covenants' debt ceilings.
Big growth in U.S. military revenue and subscriber count
Iridium reaffirmed its forecasted revenue and gross profit margin for 2016.
For the three months ending June 30, Iridium reported $109.2 million in revenue, 76 percent of it being service revenue. Service revenue was up 7 percent over the same period a year ago.
The company said it had 823,000 subscribers as of June 30, up 4 percent from March 31 and 7 percent from a year ago. The company's government business grew both in revenue and subscriber count. Fitzpatrick said the revenue growth from the company's U.S. Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) business had been foreseen in the contract and would not repeat.
Under the contract, the U.S. Defense Department can use all the Iridium service it wants. As the government adds more customers, there is no automatic increase to Iridium's service revenue line, but because these new customers are purchasing Iridium handsets, the company's hardware revenue increases.
Название: Iridium NEXT.
Отправлено: uncle_jew от 29.07.2016 21:41:35
ЦитироватьОлег пишет:
А блестеть эти Next так же будут ?
Ведь основное назначение Iridium - пускать " зайчики "
Увы, блестеть они не будут.

http://www.universetoday.com/120761/iridium-next-set-to-begin-deployment-this-year/
Название: Iridium NEXT.
Отправлено: Salo от 02.08.2016 23:28:05
Цитировать (https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/185770.png) Iridium Corporate Подлинная учетная запись ‏@IridiumComm  (https://twitter.com/IridiumComm)  
It's a big day for Iridium as the first 2 Iridium NEXT satellites have successfully arrived at Vandenberg AFB!
 (https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/158606.jpg)
  8:10 - 2 авг. 2016 г.  
Название: Iridium NEXT.
Отправлено: Salo от 03.08.2016 17:49:16
Цитировать (https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/185524.jpg) Peter B. de Selding ‏@pbdes  (https://twitter.com/pbdes)  
2 IRDM Next sats leave Orbital ATK/Ariz plant for VAFB/SpaceX Sept launch. Truck does load-deliver-return trips.
 (https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/158610.jpg)  
  7:14 - 3 авг. 2016 г.  
Название: Iridium NEXT.
Отправлено: Salo от 04.08.2016 14:11:27
http://spaceflightnow.com/2016/08/03/first-two-iridium-next-satellites-shipped-to-vandenberg/
ЦитироватьFirst two Iridium Next satellites shipped to Vandenberg             
 August 3, 2016 (http://spaceflightnow.com/2016/08/) Stephen Clark (http://spaceflightnow.com/author/stephen-clark/)
 (https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/155076.jpg) (https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/155076.jpg)
Technicians load the first two Iridium Next satellites into their shipping containers at Orbital ATK's manufacturing facility in Gilbert, Arizona. Credit: Iridium

The first two next-generation Iridium satellites, designed to connect global subscribers with data and voice traffic, arrived at Vandenberg Air Force Base on Tuesday, where they will join eight more message relay craft for launch in September on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket.
This week's shipment via truck fr om an Orbital ATK satellite manufacturing plant near Phoenix to Vandenberg on California's Central Coast will be followed by the arrival of eight more spacecraft at the launch site.
Like the first two craft, subsequent satellites will be transported two-and-a-time inside self-stabilizing, climate-controlled containers on a truck to SpaceX's clean room at Vandenberg, wh ere Orbital ATK engineers will prepare the satellites for launch.
Final steps before attachment to the Falcon 9 rocket include fueling the satellites with in-space maneuvering propellants, final functional testing, and connecting the spacecraft with their SpaceX-built dispenser to ride inside the launcher's payload fairing.
Designed by Thales Alenia Space and assembled by Orbital ATK, each satellite will weigh nearly 1,900 pounds (860 kilograms), and when combined with the specially-designed multi-spacecraft mounting dispenser, the Iridium Next package will be the heaviest payload launched by SpaceX to date.
"We're excited for the upcoming first launch of Iridium Next and proud of the work we've completed for the Iridium Next program," said Kris Kroc, mission manager at SpaceX. "This is one of the heaviest payloads we will fly to date – 10 Iridium Next satellites weighing over 20,000 pounds."
Liftoff from Space Launch Complex 4-East at Vandenberg is scheduled for Sept. 19 at 9:49 p.m. PDT (12:49 a.m. EDT; 0449 GMT Sept. 20). After turning south over the Pacific Ocean, the two-stage Falcon 9 rocket will deploy the 10 Iridium Next satellites into polar orbit 388 miles (625 kilometers) above Earth.
From there, the satellites will complete three months of tests to check the health and function of spacecraft systems, ground and inter-satellite communications links, and tack-on instruments to track global air and maritime traffic.
The satellites will maneuver into the operational Iridium constellation at an altitude of 485 miles (780 kilometers), replacing the company's 66 existing satellites one-by-one.
 (https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/155077.jpg) (https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/155077.jpg)
Two parts of the first Iridium Next dispenser pictured inside SpaceX's processing facility at Vandenberg Air Force Base. The components arrived at Vandenberg in June. Credit: SpaceX

The upcoming launch is a big step for Iridium, which is spending $3 billion on the new satellite program. Iridium's current satellite network is aging — the old spacecraft launched between 1997 and 2002 — and needs an upgrade.
Matt Desch, Iridium's chief executive, calls it the biggest tech refresh in the history of satellite communications.
"The Iridium Next program has been more than seven years in the making, and is one of the most complex satellite programs underway today," Desch said July 28 in a quarterly earnings call.
The Federal Communications Commission granted regulatory approval for the launch, deployment and operation of the Iridium Next constellation Monday.
Another Falcon 9 launch from Vandenberg with 10 more Iridium Next satellites is scheduled for late December, Desch said, followed by five SpaceX launches in 2017 to complete Iridium's modernized fleet.
The first Iridium Next launch on a Falcon 9 was scheduled earlier this summer, but the U.S. Air Force took the military-run range at Vandenberg offline for maintenance, prompting a delay. The previous Sept. 12 launch date slipped a week because of a slight snag in the Falcon 9 rocket's production, Desch said.
As of July 28, Desch said eight Iridium Next satellites were complete at Orbital ATK's facility in Arizona, and the final two spacecraft assigned to next month's liftoff were scheduled to roll off the assembly line within a few days.
Iridium booked its seven Falcon 9 launches to use newly-built rockets, but Desch said in June he is open to putting his company's satellites on a used booster — at the right price — in the future.
Desch said he is confident the satellites and rockets will be ready for the rapid-fire launch campaign. After December, Iridium Next launches from Vandenberg should come every two months.
Technicians at Orbital ATK's plant in Arizona will finish an average of one satellite per week to meet the schedule.
"Now that we've stepped up to a high-rate (production) plan, we're on track to do that," Desch said. "SpaceX has assured me that they'll have rockets on time and available. There's always going to be a little movement around the final date, whether it be a short-term issue, or it could even be weather. But we really expect to keep on that pace all the way through the final launch, and the satellites that come into operation shortly thereafter."
Two Falcon 9 launches from Cape Canaveral are in SpaceX's queue before the Iridium Next mission, but Desch said Iridium's launch date is not directly tied to the timing of those flights.
Название: Iridium NEXT.
Отправлено: Salo от 17.08.2016 23:51:25
Цитировать (https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/185770.png) Iridium Corporate Подлинная учетная запись ‏@IridiumComm  (https://twitter.com/IridiumComm)  
Six #IridiumNEXT (https://twitter.com/hashtag/IridiumNEXT?src=hash) satellite vehicles down, 4 more to go! Another successful arrival at @VandenbergAFB (https://twitter.com/VandenbergAFB) #NEXTevolution (https://twitter.com/hashtag/NEXTevolution?src=hash)
 (https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/158708.jpg)
  6:29 - 17 авг. 2016 г.  
Название: Iridium NEXT.
Отправлено: Pirat5 от 23.08.2016 10:45:56
Цитировать...в общей сложности восемь спутников из десяти необходимых для первого запуска, на месте. 
URL (http://blog.iridium.com/2016/08/22/precious-cargo-assetpack-3tm-used-to-track-the-successful-delivery-of-iridium-next-satellites-to-launch-site/)    Aug 22, 2016
Название: Iridium NEXT.
Отправлено: Pirat5 от 28.08.2016 23:15:01
https://twitter.com/IridiumBoss
(https://forum.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/forum/file/65020)
Название: Iridium NEXT.
Отправлено: Pirat5 от 31.08.2016 07:47:23
29 авг. 2016 г.        Aireon‏@AireonLLC (https://twitter.com/AireonLLC)
.@IridiumComm (https://twitter.com/IridiumComm) NEXT sats 9 & 10 arrived at VAFB. First launch payload is complete!
https://twitter.com/AireonLLC/status/770276704832983040
Название: Iridium NEXT.
Отправлено: Apollo13 от 01.09.2016 13:00:55
Ступень выехала из Хоторна в Макрегор. До пуска осталось 19 дней...

https://www.instagram.com/p/BJu_irCDLjy/

Еще нет отдельной темы для пуска?
Название: Iridium NEXT.
Отправлено: Димитър от 06.09.2016 15:37:50
ЦитироватьApollo13 пишет:
До пуска осталось 19 дней...
 https://www.instagram.com/p/BJu_irCDLjy/
После аварии пуск не отложат?
Название: Iridium NEXT.
Отправлено: Apollo13 от 06.09.2016 15:43:35
ЦитироватьДимитър пишет:
ЦитироватьApollo13 пишет:
До пуска осталось 19 дней...
 https://www.instagram.com/p/BJu_irCDLjy/
После аварии пуск не отложат?
Отложат конечно
Название: Iridium NEXT.
Отправлено: Salo от 09.09.2016 12:07:53
Цитировать (https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/185524.jpg) Peter B. de Selding ‏@pbdes  (https://twitter.com/pbdes)  50 мин.50 минут назад (https://twitter.com/pbdes/status/774159570272792577)  
Iridium CFO Sept 8 on post-SpaceX failure. IRDM's full 2d-gen constellation is on SpaceX - 70 sats, 10 Falcon 9s.
 (https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/158738.jpg)
Название: Iridium NEXT.
Отправлено: Salo от 09.09.2016 13:30:19
http://spacenews.com/iridium-remains-fully-behind-spacex-as-spacexs-musk-hints-at-difficult-investigation/#sthash.W02T6sar.dpuf
ЦитироватьIridium remains fully behind SpaceX as SpaceX's Musk hints at difficult investigation
by Peter B. de Selding (http://spacenews.com/author/peter-b-de-selding/) — September 9, 2016
  (https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/155648.jpg)
Iridium Chief Financial Officer Thomas J. Fitzpatrick said the company had no real concerns about SpaceX's ability to return to flight. Iridium has scheduled the launch of 70 second-generation Iridium Next satellites on seven SpaceX Falcon 9 rockets. Credit: Iridium  
 
PARIS — The commercial company with arguably the most at stake in a quick and successful return to flight of SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket on Sept. 8 gave a ringing endorsement of the launch-service provider even as SpaceX founder Elon Musk issued statements saying the investigation will be complicated.
The comments fr om Iridium Chief Financial Officer Thomas J. Fitzpatrick at an investor conference came just hours before SpaceX founder Elon Musk, in a series of statements on Twitter, suggested the company does not yet know what happened.
Elon Musk tweets suggest failure's complexity
"Still working on the Falcon fireball investigation," Musk said in the first of three tweets whose time stamp implied that he was burning the midnight oil. "Turning out to be the most difficult and complex we have ever had in 14 years.
The Sept. 1 failure occurred as the Falcon 9 upper stage was being filled with fuel in preparation for a static firing of the vehicle's first-stage engine i preparation for a scheduled Sept. 3 launch. Customer Spacecom of Israel had agreed to allow its $200 million Amos-6 satellite to be on board during the test. The satellite was destroyed.
SpaceX has since said that placing payloads — for both government and commercial customers — on the rocket for the static firing has been a common practice at SpaceX for several years. Customers are given the right to refuse to permit their hardware to be aboard for the test.
Musk said one of the mysteries to be solved in the investigation is what sparked the fireball given that none of the rocket's motors were ignited.
"Important to note that this happened during routine filling operation," he said. "Engines were not on and there was no apparent heat source."
"Particularly trying to understand the bang sound a few seconds before the fireball goes off. May come fr om the rocket or something else."
McLean, Virginia-based Iridium Communications has seven Falcon 9 launches planned. The first had been scheduled for later this month, and all seven were to have occurred by the end of 2017.
Iridium second-generation in-service schedule in doubt
That schedule now looks unrealistic given Musk's statements and given that it remains unclear whether the problem's origin lies in the ground support equipment, which could be a straightforward issue; or somewhere in the rocket, which could result in a longer wait for the next launch.
Iridium's current constellation of mobile communications satellites is years past its original retirement and the company has been forced to resort to occasionally inventive ways of maximizing service.
Iridium has never suggested that it would move off SpaceX in the event of a failure. The company's contract is viewed in commercial-launch circles as a particularly good deal that could not be replaced elsewh ere, even if suitable rockets were available.
But Fitzpatrick said SpaceX and Iridium's original founder, Motorola, share a taste for technological innovation, and that this was also a part of the reason for committing so heavily to SpaceX.
"We and SpaceX share a kind of DNA. Many of the same engineers who worked on the original Iridium are working with us today, and these engineers on our staff in 2009 picked SpaceX, which didn't have a launch under its belt.
"But they've revolutionized the launch industry. Our engineers made the right choice in 2009. Yes, [SpaceX] have had a mishap. Our confidence in them is not shaken. We're sure they are going to figure out what happened and get back in business. They really are an economical provider.
"The schedule [before the SpaceX failure] was that we would launch sometime between Sept. 19 and Oct. 1, with the second launch 90 days later and subsequent launches in 60-day increments."
Fitzpatrick noted that the Iridium launches are to occur from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California, and not from Cape Canaveral, wh ere the Sept. 1 failure occurred. So if SpaceX uncovers a simple-to-fix issue with the ground support equipment, it can apply that knowledge to a launch pad that otherwise needs no repair work.
"We don't have launch pad worries to the extent that the launch pad at Cape Canaveral has been damaged. Vandenberg's fine. We're more in wait mode on [the new schedule] right now," Fitzpatrick said.
Iridium purchased a "free" relaunch from SpaceX if one of the seven launches fails, and the satellite-construction contract with Thales Alenia Space of France and Italy is for 81 satellites, leaving nine spares beyond the 72 satellites Iridium wants to launch for Iridium Next.
In addition to the 70 satellites on SpaceX, Iridium is seeking alternatives to the Russian-Ukrainian Dnepr rocket, which had been scheduled to put two satellites into orbit.
"We have a kind of hybrid insurance," Fitzpatrick said. "We need 66 satellites to operate the constellation, and we are launching 72 and building 81. In the event of a launch failure we get a free ride on SpaceX and we have the nine spares. The second launch is insured."
Название: Iridium NEXT.
Отправлено: Pirat5 от 09.09.2016 18:36:41
Всё-таки (несмотря на неудачу F-9) они по-прежнему ищут замену пуска на Днепре
Название: Iridium NEXT.
Отправлено: PIN от 09.09.2016 20:32:24
А на Днепре в любом случает только максимум первые 2 аппарата для тестирования. Хотя, я до сих пор не верю, что Днепр может вывести сразу 2 :)
Название: Iridium NEXT.
Отправлено: Salo от 14.09.2016 15:33:54
Цитировать (https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/185770.png) Iridium Corporate ‏@IridiumComm  (https://twitter.com/IridiumComm)  14 ч.14 часов назад (https://twitter.com/IridiumComm/status/775822365297143808)  
Encouraged by SpaceX's Nov. target, but all based on a successful root cause finding and resolution. Ready to launch when our rocket is!
Название: Iridium NEXT.
Отправлено: Salo от 31.10.2016 13:52:19
Цитировать (https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/185524.jpg) Peter B. de Selding ‏@pbdes  (https://twitter.com/pbdes)  2 ч.2 часа назад (https://twitter.com/pbdes/status/793011616396763136)  
Self-evident dept: IRDM CEO says IRDM sats wont be on SpaceX Falcon 9 for static fire test. No info re launch date or if IRDM is RTF payload
Название: Iridium NEXT.
Отправлено: Salo от 31.10.2016 13:54:14
http://spacenews.com/iridium-expects-to-renegotiate-loan-agreement-by-years-end/
ЦитироватьIridium expects to renegotiate loan agreement by year's end
by Peter B. de Selding (http://spacenews.com/author/peter-b-de-selding/) — October 31, 2016  (https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/155442.jpg)
Iridium CEO Matthew J. Desch said the company's current constellation remains in good overall shape despite the loss of two satellites earlier this year, and that the just-completed insurance policy for the 10 SpaceX launches of 70 second-generation satellites was not affected by the Sept. 1 SpaceX rocket explosion. Credit: SpaceNews file photo.  

PARIS — Mobile satellite services provider Iridium Communications expects to complete negotiations with its lenders and its satellite manufacturer by the end of the year on loosening payment obligations to ride out the delay in the launch of its second-generation constellation.
As it awaits word on when launch-service provider SpaceX will return to flight after a Sept. 1 explosion during a test procedure, Iridium is contending with multiple challenges. Many of them are at least partly the result of the fact that the company's seven SpaceX launches, each carrying 10 Iridium Next satellites, likely will not be completed as planned by late 2017.
McLean, Virginia-based Iridium until recently had assumed that 2018 would be its first full year of operations with the Iridium Next satellites.
In an Oct. 27 conference call with investors and a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Iridium said the SpaceX delay means full second-generation service will not start until mid-2018, making 2019 the first full year of service.
That will delay the expected $47 million in annual revenue from data provision and hosting fees Iridium expects from customers Aireon, a start-up commercial aircraft-tracking service provider in which Iridium is a major investor; and Harris Corp., which is managing the secondary payloads on the Iridium Next satellites.
Revenue from other Iridium Next services also are likely to be delayed, although some do not require a full constellation.

Seeking to relax multiple loan covenants
To confront the situation, Iridium has opened negotiations with nine commercial lenders and the French government, which together are behind the $1.8 billion credit facility that is paying most of the $3 billion Iridium Next system's cost.
Among the debt covenants is a requirement that Iridium maintain a minimum cash reserve of $113 million dedicated to debt repayment. Starting in 2017, the reserve minimum rises to $189 million.
In addition to this, the credit facility has requirements on minimum cash balance, debt-to-equity ratio, hosted payload revenue levels and EBITDA, or earnings before interest, taxes, deprecation and amortization.
In the conference call, Iridium Chief Financial Officer Thomas J. Fitzpatrick said negotiations on relaxing some of these terms, and on stretching out payments to satellite prime contractor Thales Alenia Space of France and Italy, are under way.
"I think we will have a favorable outcome," Fitzpatrick said of the negotiations, but he agreed that the process could be compared to sausage making, in which everyone likes the outcome but no one enjoys the process by which it was made possible.
Iridium's contract with Thales Alenia Space is valued at $2.3 billion for 81 Iridium Next satellites. As of Sept. 30, it had remaining payments of about $728 million due.
The launch delay has a silver lining of sorts. With no launches, Iridium is not obliged to make some milestone payments to SpaceX and to Thales Alenia Space. As of Sept. 30, it had paid SpaceX about $339 million of contract's full value of $468.1 million.
Fitzpatrick said the launch delay has reduced Iridium's capital spending for 2016 by at least $100 million, to between $400 million and $450 million.

No effect on insurance from SpaceX failure
The SpaceX contract includes the right to a relaunch in the event of a failure of one of the seven contracted launches.
Iridium Chief Executive Mathew J. Desch said during the conference call that the company completed its Iridium Next launch insurance policy — also among the debt convent requirements — around the time of the Sept. 1 SpaceX explosion and that the terms and conditions did not change as a result of the failure.
To preserve cash, Iridium also has the option of reducing or eliminating the dividends it pays on its preferred stock. These total $3.85 million per quarter.
Iridium had planned to launch the first two Iridium Next satellites on a Russian-Ukrainian Dnepr rocket, commercialized by Kosmotras of Moscow. But Kosmotras has been unable to secure the necessary permissions from the Russian government for the launch, and Iridium is seeking an alternative supplier for these two satellites.
Iridium has already paid Kosmotras $36.8 million for the launch. In its SEC filing, Iridium said it "may also be unable to recover the amounts already paid to Kosmotras."

Squeezing more life from aging constellation
Iridium's current constellation, in its 19th year of operation, is far past its planned retirement date, another reason the company is in a hurry to launch the higher-capacity Iridium Next.
Desch said the two Iridium satellites that failed earlier this year did not suffer from battery issues, and battery performance is not an issue with any of the other satellites in the constellation.
Given the constellation's age, industry observers regularly scrutinize its coverage for signs that it may be on the verge of a cascade of failures.
Desch said there are no such signs. "Health of the current constellation is not an immediate concern," he said, adding that the the short service delays occasioned by the loss of two satellites earlier this year were not serious given that the "hole" in the sky created by the absent satellites is quickly filled as other satellites pass over.
Desch said that assuming the new constellation si fully operational in 2018, Iridium will begin deorbiting its older satellites so that the first-generation constellation is out of orbit by the end of 2019.
Название: Iridium NEXT.
Отправлено: Salo от 31.10.2016 15:22:46
Цитировать (https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/185524.jpg) Peter B. de Selding ‏@pbdes  (https://twitter.com/pbdes)  1 ч.1 час назад (https://twitter.com/pbdes/status/793043420625375232)  
Iridium: We may not be able to recover $36.8M we paid Kosmotras for Dnepr launch that's been stuck in Russia-Ukraine issues.
Название: Iridium NEXT.
Отправлено: PIN от 31.10.2016 16:27:13
Так Космотрас сам может "not able to recover".  Зависит от того, насколько далеко "Пересвет" зашел. Так, что при банкротстве сможет что-то существенное своим клиентам вернуть или "спасибо и до свидания, а это вам на чай".
Название: Iridium NEXT.
Отправлено: PIN от 31.10.2016 16:45:40
ЦитироватьSalo пишет:
Iridium: We may not be able to recover $36.8M we paid Kosmotras for Dnepr launch that's been stuck in Russia-Ukraine issues.
Из их отчета SEC за 2015 год выходит, что еще 1.1 миллиона в этом году могут сгореть, а могли бы и на 15 "попасть", наивные.
As of December 31, 2015, we had made aggregate payments of $36.8 million to Kosmotras. Of the $15.0 million obligation for the year ended December 31, 2016, $1.1 million is in accounts payable.
Название: Iridium NEXT.
Отправлено: Salo от 08.11.2016 18:19:35
Цитировать (https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/185524.jpg) Peter B. de Selding ‏@pbdes  (https://twitter.com/pbdes)  58 мин.58 минут назад (https://twitter.com/pbdes/status/795994244880207873)  
Orbital ATK: We & Thales delivered 1st 10 IRDM Next sats; AIT done on 13 more. We'll await SpaceX launch schedule clarity before shipping.
Название: Iridium NEXT.
Отправлено: Salo от 09.11.2016 00:07:00
Цитировать (https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/67496.jpg) Matt Desch ‏@IridiumBoss  (https://twitter.com/IridiumBoss)
Our second stage has arrived at VAFB! First stage to follow soon. Still working to get our launch off this year!
(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/159100.jpg)
Цитировать (https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/186040.jpg) Chris B - NSF ‏@NASASpaceflight  (https://twitter.com/NASASpaceflight)  24 мин.24 минуты назад (https://twitter.com/NASASpaceflight/status/796094323293032448)  
Chris B - NSF Ретвитнул(а) Matt Desch
 The likely RTF mission for SpaceX. Interesting that the first stage was at Vandy, but popped back to McGregor (and heading back soon).
Название: Iridium NEXT.
Отправлено: Salo от 09.11.2016 00:09:39
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-switch/wp/2016/11/08/elon-musks-rocket-blew-up-in-september-heres-why-one-of-his-main-customers-isnt-worried/?postshare=5731478615253143&tid=ss_tw
ЦитироватьElon Musk's rocket blew up in September. Here's why one of his main customers isn't worried.
By Christian Davenport November 8 at 7:00 AM

Few have more riding on SpaceX's next launch than Iridium Satellite Communications.

The McLean-based company has spent $3 billion to build a fleet of new, state-of-the-art satellites that would replace an aging constellation that's been in orbit for years. The company has hired SpaceX for seven missions over the next year to launch dozens into orbit.

The only problem: SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket has blown up twice. The company is currently grounded again for the second time in two years. And even though SpaceX's Elon Musk has said the company should fly by mid-December, the investigation into the explosion on Sept. 1 isn't yet complete and the Federal Aviation Administration hasn't yet given it the green light to fly.

But Matt Desch, Iridium's chief executive, said he is not worried. In an interview, he said he was heartened the investigation to date and by recent comments by Musk, who said that the company has discovered the cause of the explosion on Sept. 1.

"We've been privy to the thinking and the analysis and the data involved at a very deep level," Desch said. "So, yes, we know why he is saying what's he's saying and concur that they have found the issue. We're encouraged, too, that it was procedural...We are back on the path for a first launch and, yes, I feel very confident that the issue that was found won't be repeated for our launch."

Still, he said on launch day, "I might be in a corner rocking back and forth." Not out of fear for the rocket, but more because it's always nerve racking "when you see 10 of your precious babies going into orbit."

On Sept. 1 a Falcon 9 rocket blew up on a Cape Canaveral launch pad while it was being fueled ahead of an engine test fire. Musk said on CNBC Friday that the cause of the explosion was "a really surprising problem that's never been encountered before."

SpaceX has been super cooling its liquid oxygen fuel, a process that makes it more dense, allowing the rocket to then carry more fuel. But apparently the propellant got so cold it turned solid, Musk said, without elaborating on how exactly that could lead to an explosion.

"This was the toughest puzzle that we've ever had to solve," he said.

With an aging constellation of 66 satellites now in orbit, Iridium is eager to replace them with the new fleet. The company's satellites provide an array of services, from communications and tracking for service members in war zones, to delivering Internet and mobile phone service to remote areas around the world and at sea.

The new constellation will allow the company to offer airline tracking from space. It will also help the company with its fastest-growing market—the so-called Internet of Things—connecting machine to machine, so they can communicate on their own.
Название: Iridium NEXT.
Отправлено: Salo от 15.11.2016 02:04:58
http://spacenews.com/u-s-defense-agency-encourages-allied-nations-to-join-unlimited-use-iridium-program/
ЦитироватьU.S. defense agency encourages allied nations to join unlimited-use Iridium program
by Peter B. de Selding (http://spacenews.com/author/peter-b-de-selding/) — November 11, 2016
(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/155671.jpg)
The U.S. Defense Information Systems Agency is encouraging allied nations to join its program using Iridium mobile communications satellite network on a fixed-cost, unlimited-use basis. Australia, Britain, Canada and New Zealand have already joined. Credit: U.S. Defense Department via Iridium  
 
LONDON — The agency providing U.S. government access to Iridium's global constellation of mobile communications satellites on Nov. 9  urged other nations to join the program to take advantage of its fixed-price, unlimited-access feature.
Clare Grason, who manages the Enhanced Mobile Satellite Services (EMSS) program at the U.S. Defense Information Systems Agency, said allied nations are welcome to join the other "Five Eyes" nations — Australia, Britain, Canada and New Zealand — which have already joined the program as EMSS Fair Share members in addition to the United States.
"They have the same privileges as the U.S. Department of Defense," Grason said at the Global Milsatcom conference here, organized by SMi Group.
"By that I mean they have unlimited access to the Iridium constellation through our gateway. Like Department of Defense agencies, they pay us a fixed rate. In return, they can add as many devices as they want to the network, provisioned by us."
DISA, which is Iridium Communications' biggest customer, is midway through a five-year, $400 million contract providing unlimited access to Iridium for U.S. government agencies that in turn pay DISA for the service.
Under the contract, all U.S. government communications are routed through the government-operated Iridium gateway in Hawaii. None of the traffic is routed through Iridium's commercial gateway in Arizona or to the recently inaugurated gateway in Russia.
The Iridium constellation uses radio links to permit communications to be routed fr om satellite to satellite before landing at their destination without the need to touch down anywhere else.
The U.S. government, for security reasons, insisted on its own gateway. "Iridium has no insight into our usage trends, who are users are or wh ere they are located," she said.
Grason said 85,000 Iridium subscriber units have been activated under the contract, most for military users but about 15 percent for non-military U.S. government agencies.
The contract includes foreign nations' access to Iridium insofar as these users are approved by DISA after clearing U.S. Foreign Military Sales approval.
"We charge our customers the same way Iridium charges us, on a fixed-prices basis," Grason said. "Rates do not change no matter what the volume, so obviously maximum participation is encouraged."
Government hardware not identical to commercial hardware
DISA has created firewalls that mean a government purchasing a commercial Iridium phone cannot simply apply the hardware to the DISA contract. For example, Iridium's commercial push-to-talk feature, also called netted Iridium, is not usable on the DISA network.
Instead, government agencies seeking this feature must purchase equipment that can access the military version, called the Distributed Tactical Communications System.
The current range of this secure push-to-talk feature is about 160 kilometers, and up to 400 kilometers in certain cases. Grason said an upgrade is under way that will give this feature a global reach.
DISA customers must purchase secure Iridium handsets, which starting in mid-2017 will come with a new version of the Iridium Security Module and retail at about $4,000.
Equipment can be purchased directly through DISA or through a number of commercial Iridium value-added resellers.
DISA confident of signing new Iridium contract in 2018
Iridium's current constellation is well beyond its planned retirement date. Launch of the second-generation constellation, called Iridium Next, has been delayed as launch provider SpaceX of Hawthorne, California, investigates the causes of an explosion of its Falcon 9 rocket in September while refueling in preparation for a test firing.
SpaceX and Iridium have said SpaceX could return to flight in December assuming the investigation wraps up by then with a clear explanation of the September failure.
Iridium has planned seven launches, each with 10 satellites, with SpaceX. Once the first batch is in orbit, the company will spending three months performing in-orbit checkout to validate system performance before proceeding with the second 10-satellite launch.
Subsequent launches could occur at 60-day intervals.
The DISA contract expires in October 2018. Grason said negotiations on a new contract, which she said DISA assumes will be signed and will stretch over five years or more, will begin in 2017.
DISA would not need to await until the second-generation constellation is in service to sign an successor contract, Grason said, as the agreement is for access to the constellation, not to a specific set of satellites.
The new contract is likely to include access to the higher-speed data rates available on the second generation of Iridium satellites, she said.
Название: Iridium NEXT.
Отправлено: Floppy Disk от 18.11.2016 08:53:47
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d-5NkGl1Auo (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d-5NkGl1Auo)Гендиректор Iridium: Для нас было важно выйти на российский рынок (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d-5NkGl1Auo)
Название: Iridium NEXT.
Отправлено: Salo от 19.11.2016 00:39:39
https://www.orbitalatk.com/space-systems/commercial-satellites/communications-satellites/docs/FS002_11_OA_3862%20IridiumNEXT.pdf (http://novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/forum/user/14242/)
Название: Iridium NEXT.
Отправлено: petr-2000 от 19.11.2016 09:58:58
Iridium стал российским (http://www.comnews.ru/content/104744/2016-11-17/iridium-stal-rossiyskim)

Цитировать
Спойлер
Iridium стал российским
 Леонид Коник (mailto:editor@comnews.ru)
 © ComNews
 17.11.2016
[свернуть]
Компания Iridium Communications Inc. - оператор сети мобильной спутниковой связи - вчера запустила российскую станцию сопряжения наземного и космического сегментов в Ижевске. Теперь компания полностью выполнила все требования законодательства РФ, что позволит ей начать работу и с государственными заказчиками.
Спойлер
До сих пор вся коммерческая часть сети Iridium работала через единственную станцию сопряжения - в городе Темпе (штат Аризона). Кроме того, на Гавайских островах у Iridium действует выделенная станция сопряжения, которая принадлежит Министерству обороны США (DoD) и обслуживает его нужды. (На DoD, согласно последнему квартальному отчету Iridium Communications, приходится 19,5% выручки и 9,8% всех активных абонентских устройств компании).
Виктор Глушко, генеральный директор ООО "Иридиум Коммьюникешенс" - российской "дочки" Iridium, отметил, что отныне через станцию сопряжения в Ижевске идет весь трафик, который инициируется с территории России - как местными абонентами Iridium, так и роумерами, а также весь входящий трафик на них. Генеральный директор Iridium Communications Inc. Мэтт Дэш добавил, что одновременно прекращает действовать временная схема закольцовывания российского трафика, которую компания согласовала весной 2012 г., после возврата на российский рынок. По этой схеме, согласованной с российскими спецслужбами, весь трафик из России, который приходил на станцию сопряжения в Темпе, возвращался в Москву по наземным каналам для процедуры СОРМ. Для этих целей Iridium Communications арендовала резервированный выделенный канал Т1 (с пропускной способностью 1,5 Мбит/с). Как сообщил корреспонденту ComNews вице-президент и глава региона "ЕМЕА и Россия" Iridium Дэн Мерсер, этот канал будет сохранен для связности с ижевской станцией сопряжения.
Виктор Глушко напомнил, что в качестве места размещения российской станции сопряжения рассматривались Москва и Геленджик (см. новость (http://www.comnews.ru/66362) ComNews от 9 июня 2012 г.). В Москве на территории ГКНПЦ им. М.В. Хруничева располагалась старая станция сопряжения, которой пользовалось ОАО "Иридиум Евразия" - сервис-провайдер обанкротившейся в 2000 г. компании Iridium LLC, предшественника Iridium Communications. Однако та станция морально устарела, к тому же в Москве из-за частотной координации со спутниками на геостационарной орбите возникали ограничения по работе в Ка-диапазоне, в котором станция сопряжения Iridium коммуницирует с космическим сегментом. В Геленджике оказались проблемы с выделением электрической мощности и наличием волоконно-оптических каналов. В промышленном Ижевске не оказалось проблем ни с энергетикой (построенный объект потребляет 70 кВт), ни с оптикой, к тому же в этом городе компания без труда нашла много грамотных технических специалистов, поэтому выбор Iridium и пал на столицу Удмуртии.
Станция сопряжения разместилась в здании бизнес-центра "Метеор", которое ранее принадлежало Ижевскому электромеханическому заводу. Она включает в себя три следящих антенны, которые установили специалисты американской фирмы Boeing, являющейся производителем спутников Iridium и управляющей всей орбитальной группировкой как аутсорсер. Здесь же установлен коммутатор AXE-10 производства Ericsson (с программным обеспечением, кастомизированным под задачи спутниковой связи), система СОРМ (разработчик - московское ООО "Малвин Системс"  ;)  и другое оборудование. Технический директор ООО "Иридиум Коммьюникешенс" Виктор Кухтевич сообщил, что монтированная емкость коммутатора составляет 2,5 млн номеров, но пока открыто 100 тыс. номеров в домашнем регистре (HLR) и 600 тыс. номеров в гостевом регистре (VLR, предназначен для обслуживания роумеров) - такие цифры внесены и в лицензию российского сервис-провайдера Iridium.
Как рассказал Мэтт Деш, инвестиции в создание ижевской станции сопряжения составляют "десятки миллионов долларов", причем все затраты покрыла Iridium Communications. Российские совладельцы ООО "Иридиум Коммьюникешенс" - ООО "Гейзер-Телеком" (25% долей) и ФГУП "Морсвязьспутник" (16%) обеспечили создание российского бизнеса, включая решение всех регуляторных вопросов. "Мы вложили большие деньги в создание станции сопряжения в Ижевске, но мы не рассматриваем этот проект с позиций быстрого возврата инвестиций, - подчеркнул Мэтт Деш. - Это было стратегическое, а не чисто экономическое решение". Стратегия заключается в полной легализации и закреплении Iridium на российском рынке на многие годы, при этом компания считает его перспективным и для голосовой спутниковой связи, и для решений в области безопасности в воздухе и на воде, и для продуктов М2М.
Особые надежды компания связывает с орбитальной группировкой нового поколения Iridium NEXT стоимостью $3 млрд, в которой скорость передачи данных повысится в десятки раз (до 1,4 Мбит/с - с сегодняшних 128 кбит/с). Мэтт Деш заявил, что запуск первой десятки спутников Iridium NEXT ракетой Falcon (компании SpaceX) ожидается уже в декабре этого года, а в последующие 15 месяцев на орбиту стартуют еще 56 космических аппаратов (66 спутников Iridium NEXT заменят 66 аппаратов предыдущего поколения). При этом станция сопряжения в Ижевске уже полностью готова для работы со спутниками Iridium NEXT, и с большой долей вероятности именно с ее помощью будут протестированы первые аппараты нового поколения на орбите.
 
 
Досье ComNews
По данным финансового отчета за III квартал 2016 г., Iridium Communications Inc. обслуживает 838 тыс. абонентов (около половины приходится на устройства М2М), а его квартальная выручка составила $112,8 млн (из которых $87,3 млн обеспечили услуги, а остальное - продажи оборудования и техподдержка). По итогам всего 2016 г. компания планирует получить OEBITDA в диапазоне $250-255 млн. В 2019 г. - первом полном году функционирования новой группировки Iridium NEXT - компания ожидает доход от оказания услуг на уровне $440-465 млн, а показатель OEBITDA margin в 2019 г. должен составить 60%.
 ООО "Иридиум Коммьюникешенс" создано в Москве в декабре 2008 г. Доля Iridium Communications Inc. в его уставном капитале составляет 59%. Компания, по собственным данным, обслуживает "десятки тысяч абонентов" (включая М2М-устройства). Выручка в 2015 г. - 405,6 млн руб.
 



источник: http://www.comnews.ru/content/104744/2016-11-17/iridium-stal-rossiyskim#ixzz4QR3OdpXv
[свернуть]
"При этом станция сопряжения в Ижевске уже полностью готова для работы со спутниками Iridium NEXT, и с большой долей вероятности именно с ее помощью будут протестированы первые аппараты нового поколения на орбите."
Название: Iridium NEXT.
Отправлено: triage от 19.11.2016 10:50:28
Цитироватьи с большой долей вероятности именно с ее помощью будут протестированы первые аппараты нового поколения на орбите.
Конечно конечно через нее.... А не в первую очередь модернизировать станцию (а их на территории США две) и оттестировать работу на своей территории. А то какие-то законы одной страны вынуждают весь трафик абонентов находящихся на ее территории и/или ее подданных гнать через ее СОРМ.

Занятная причина перерегистрация (http://www.marsat.ru/files/%D0%BD%D0%BE%D0%B2%D0%BE%D1%81%D1%82%D0%B8/%D0%B8%D0%BD%D1%84%D0%BE%D1%80%D0%BC%D0%B0%D1%86%D0%B8%D0%BE%D0%BD%D0%BD%D0%BE%D0%B5%20%D0%BF%D0%B8%D1%81%D1%8C%D0%BC%D0%BE%20%D0%B8%D1%80%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B8%D1%83%D0%BC%20%D0%BA%D0%BE%D0%BC%D0%BC%D1%8E%D0%BD%D0%B8%D0%BA%D0%B5%D1%88%D0%B5%D0%BD%D1%81.pdf) "для выполнения требований регулятора в области связи РФ" в том числе для абонентов находящихся за пределами РФ (абонент имеет Российскую симку)

ЦитироватьОна включает в себя три следящих антенны, которые установили специалисты американской фирмы Boeing, являющейся производителем спутников Iridium и управляющей всей орбитальной группировкой как аутсорсер
источник: http://www.comnews.ru/content/104744/2016-11-17/iridium-stal-rossiyskim#ixzz4QRGbnmCQ
Спутники нового поколоения делала не Boeing
Название: Iridium NEXT.
Отправлено: Salo от 21.11.2016 01:22:28
Цитировать (https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/67496.jpg) Matt Desch ‏@IridiumBoss  (https://twitter.com/IridiumBoss)  1 ч.1 час назад (https://twitter.com/IridiumBoss/status/800441658160648192)  
Opened our new Russian gateway this week. It was epic! So much opportunity - beautiful facility, great team and partners. За здоровье!
 (https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/159177.jpg)
 (https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/159178.jpg)
 (https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/159179.jpg)
 (https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/159180.jpg)
 
  (https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/67496.jpg) Matt Desch ‏@IridiumBoss  (https://twitter.com/IridiumBoss)  15 нояб. (https://twitter.com/IridiumBoss/status/798435269242458113)  
Matt Desch Ретвитнул(а) Michael Panarin
Spasibo!
Цитировать  (https://twitter.com/panarinmv/status/798390337970511872)  
 Michael Panarin  @panarinmv  
@IridiumBoss @MuddogsFC @IridiumComm @IridiumRussia20 welcome to Russia

  (https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/67496.jpg) Matt Desch ‏@IridiumBoss  (https://twitter.com/IridiumBoss)  14 нояб. (https://twitter.com/IridiumBoss/status/798285796235059200)  
Matt Desch Ретвитнул(а) Dan Mercer
Just arrived Moscow; Izhevsk tomorrow. Excited to see partners and customers. Proud we completed this commitment - good opportunities!
Matt Desch добавил(а),
Цитировать  (https://twitter.com/MuddogsFC/status/798280546115784704)  
 (https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/159170.jpg)  
 Dan Mercer  @MuddogsFC  
This week we open the Iridium Russia Gateway (https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/125535.png)(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/125282.png) in Izhevsk @IridiumComm @IridiumRussia20 #global #iridium #Russia
Название: Iridium NEXT.
Отправлено: Salo от 23.11.2016 13:52:40
Цитировать (https://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/592461365219983363/SSRPBkCL_bigger.png) MrxFivexAlive(Kreep) ‏@zoolo19er  (https://twitter.com/zoolo19er)  21 нояб. (https://twitter.com/zoolo19er/status/800517003559608320)  
@IridiumBoss (https://twitter.com/IridiumBoss) Amazing, since this is rapped up I'm assuming this is a new stage, or is this CRS-8?
 
  (https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/67496.jpg) Matt Desch ‏@IridiumBoss  (https://twitter.com/IridiumBoss)  21 нояб. (https://twitter.com/IridiumBoss/status/800518472648232960)  
@zoolo19er (https://twitter.com/zoolo19er) Brand new. We're only using new rockets for our 7 planned launches.
Название: Iridium NEXT.
Отправлено: Salo от 17.12.2016 03:23:41
Цитировать (https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/67496.jpg) Matt Desch ‏@IridiumBoss  (https://twitter.com/IridiumBoss)  
Matt Desch Ретвитнул(а) Just A. Tinker
I believe its at sea, though personally more focused on my satellites getting safely to orbit! All our seven F9s are new.
Matt Desch добавил(а),
Цитировать  (https://twitter.com/John_Gardi/status/809886313524719616)  
 Just A. Tinker  @John_Gardi  
@IridiumBoss Any word yet on whether the booster landing will be on sea or land? Will you consider 'pre-flown' boosters for later flights?
14:36 - 16 дек. 2016 г.  

 (https://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/808137304711823361/1g0ax7Fc_bigger.jpg) Brandon T. ‏@BrandongTurner  (https://twitter.com/BrandongTurner)  2 ч2 часа назад (https://twitter.com/BrandongTurner/status/809891484900196352)  
@IridiumBoss (https://twitter.com/IridiumBoss) What do you think about the whole re-usability race with you being involved directly, waste of time? Or future of spaceflight?
 
  (https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/67496.jpg) Matt Desch ‏@IridiumBoss  (https://twitter.com/IridiumBoss)  2 ч2 часа назад (https://twitter.com/IridiumBoss/status/809892328743825408)  
@BrandongTurner (https://twitter.com/BrandongTurner) It's the future. We're just a little ahead of it now, so are using all new rockets. Anything to lower cost to space = good
Название: Iridium NEXT.
Отправлено: Salo от 17.12.2016 03:28:19
Цитировать (https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/185988.jpg) Peter B. de Selding ‏@pbdes  (https://twitter.com/pbdes) 15 дек. (https://twitter.com/pbdes/status/809445519114248192)
GRACE-FO/SpaceX(3): GRACE-FO to ride on Falcon 9 w/ 5 IRDM sats. Launch set for Dec 2017-Feb 2018 -- optimistic given SpaceX sched/manifest.

  (https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/185988.jpg) Peter B. de Selding ‏@pbdes  (https://twitter.com/pbdes)  15 дек. (https://twitter.com/pbdes/status/809410239904759808)  
GRACE-FO SpaceX(4): IRDM has 7 10-sat Falcon 9 launches scheduled ideally in Jan, April, June, Aug, Oct, Dec, Feb. GRACE-FO after that.
 
  (https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/185988.jpg) Peter B. de Selding ‏@pbdes  (https://twitter.com/pbdes)  15 дек. (https://twitter.com/pbdes/status/809408928912130049)  
GRACE-FO/SpaceX(2): IRDM sold GRACE-FO share of Falcon 9 IRDM had booked after Russia/Ukraine Dnepr rocket disappeared from market.
 
  (https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/185988.jpg) Peter B. de Selding ‏@pbdes  (https://twitter.com/pbdes)  15 дек. (https://twitter.com/pbdes/status/809408356326735872)  
GRACE-FO/SpaceX(1): German Research Centre for Geosciences (GFZ) & NASA contract w/ IRDM for Falcon 9 launch of 2 gravity field science sats
Название: Iridium NEXT.
Отправлено: Salo от 30.12.2016 12:21:30
Цитировать (https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/67496.jpg) Matt Desch ‏@IridiumBoss  (https://twitter.com/IridiumBoss)  28 дек. (https://twitter.com/IridiumBoss/status/814210253868990464)  
Matt Desch Ретвитнул(а) Nir
Sadly, yes. But you have at least two more years to enjoy them - maybe a bit longer.
Matt Desch добавил(а),
Цитировать  (https://twitter.com/Cakeofdestiny/status/814141201351839745)  
 Nir  @Cakeofdestiny  
@IridiumComm @IridiumBoss Are we really saying goodbye to Iridium flares with NEXT?
Название: Iridium NEXT.
Отправлено: vogel от 02.01.2017 18:44:48
ЦитироватьSpaceX ‏@SpaceX  (https://twitter.com/SpaceX) 2h2 hours ago (https://twitter.com/SpaceX/status/815920600258490370)

Targeting return to flight from Vandenberg with the @IridiumComm (https://twitter.com/IridiumComm) NEXT launch on January 8. Update: https://t.co/15yMaiobpX

Название: Iridium NEXT.
Отправлено: Salo от 16.01.2017 16:49:49
Цитировать (https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/185988.jpg) Peter B. de Selding ‏@pbdes  (https://twitter.com/pbdes)  20 мин.20 минут назад (https://twitter.com/pbdes/status/820986025614934016)  
CEO Desch @IridiumComm (https://twitter.com/IridiumComm): TBD but we may be able to cut @SpaceX (https://twitter.com/SpaceX) launch interval to < 60 days as from our 3d launch. https://www.spaceintelreport.com/iridium-next-launch ... (https://t.co/wy7YBYvtnd)
 (https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/156588.jpg)
Название: Iridium NEXT.
Отправлено: Apollo13 от 31.01.2017 16:43:35
ЦитироватьJeff Foust ‏@jeff_foust  (https://twitter.com/jeff_foust) 4m4 minutes ago (https://twitter.com/jeff_foust/status/826424497511215104)

As expected, Iridium has ordered an eighth Falcon 9 launch from SpaceX; will share it with German/NASA GRACE-FO: http://bit.ly/2jqkkxg  (https://t.co/arHBamu3TT)

Название: Iridium NEXT.
Отправлено: Salo от 31.01.2017 18:45:34
http://investor.iridium.com/releasedetail.cfm?ReleaseID=1009711
ЦитироватьJan 31, 2017

 Iridium Adds Eighth Launch with SpaceX for Satellite Rideshare with NASA/GFZ Iridium strikes deal with GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences to launch five additional spare Iridium NEXT satellites as well as NASA/GFZ's Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment Follow-on (GRACE-FO) Mission
MCLEAN, Va., Jan. 31, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Iridium Communications Inc. (NASDAQ:IRDM) announced today that it has contracted with SpaceX for an eighth Falcon 9 launch. Along for the ride are the twin-satellites of the NASA/GFZ Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment Follow-On (GRACE-FO) mission, which will be deployed into a separate low-Earth orbit, marking the first rideshare deal for Iridium. An agreement of this kind is economical for all parties, and affords Iridium the ability to launch five additional satellites for its next-generation global satellite network.   The rideshare is anticipated to launch out of Vandenberg Air Force Base in California by early 2018.
"This is a very smart way to get additional Iridium NEXT satellites into orbit," said Matt Desch, chief executive officer at Iridium. "This launch provides added resiliency to our network for not much more than we had planned originally to launch 72 satellites, including two with Kosmotras."  Desch continued, "We are pleased to be sharing a rocket with NASA and GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences for this additional SpaceX launch, and GFZ has been a great business partner throughout this process." 
Not only is this launch a rare opportunity to ride with NASA, but it also represents a particularly compelling economical solution. The Company had always expected to launch additional satellites after the Iridium NEXT construction was completed to utilize the nine ground spares built into the program. This rideshare represents a material savings from other supplemental launch options due to the efficiency of sharing the rocket with GRACE-FO, and the incremental cost during the Iridium NEXT construction period is immaterial when considering the avoidance of unspent amounts contemplated under the Kosmotras program. It also affords Iridium the opportunity to rearrange its launch and satellite drifting plan and launch these five satellites directly into their operational orbital plane while increasing the number of planned in-orbit spares by three satellites.  Further, this development allows Iridium to complete the whole operational constellation at a faster rate than it would have with seven launches. Iridium will still consider launching satellites with Kosmotras once approvals are available.
Iridium NEXT is the company's next-generation global satellite constellation.  Replacing Iridium's existing network of low-Earth orbit satellites, Iridium NEXT is poised to re-energize the mobile satellite industry with faster speeds and higher throughputs for all industry verticals.  The launch of the Iridium NEXT constellation represents an unprecedented feat for satellite communications, and has been coined the largest "tech refresh" of its kind.
The Company has contracted with SpaceX for seven dedicated Iridium NEXT launches, deploying 70 Iridium NEXT satellites into low-Earth orbit, across a 13-month period out of Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. This eighth launch will increase the constellation's count to 75 total in-orbit satellites, nine of which will serve as on-orbit spares. The first set of Iridium NEXT satellites was successfully launched on January 14th and is currently under test in orbit.  For more information about Iridium NEXT, please visit www.iridiumnext.com (https://www.globenewswire.com/Tracker?data=LMl6dcg9pwuOCyh7bJWIDtQh7nN1e8rT7P0z6UtElaoxiKJRUgdVvdKx1Ttd9JdiHzz1yq8IjqGOyOZ4NlHCCatnRVlAhZwapGbggxg8La0=).
GRACE-FO is a successor to the joint NASA/DLR/GFZ GRACE mission, which launched in 2002 and is still in operation. The twin GRACE-FO satellites, which operate in tandem, will continue GRACE's legacy of tracking changes in the distribution of Earth's mass over time by creating monthly maps of Earth's gravity field. The movements of masses of water, ice, air, and the solid Earth are driven by processes such as precipitation, droughts, floods, the melting of snow and ice, ground water usage and storage, and even tectonic events such as large earthquakes. GRACE is improving our understanding and knowledge of a variety of important Earth system processes:  the terrestrial water cycle and changes in ice sheets, glaciers and sea level, surface and deep-ocean currents; and variations in Earth's lithosphere and mantle density. These measurements provide a unique view of the Earth system and have far-reaching benefits to society and the world's population. The mission is managed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California, for NASA's Science Mission Directorate.
About Iridium Communications Inc.
Iridium® is the only mobile voice and data satellite communications network that spans the entire globe. Iridium enables connections between people, organizations and assets to and from anywhere, in real time. Together with its ecosystem of partner companies, Iridium delivers an innovative and rich portfolio of reliable solutions for markets that require truly global communications. The company has a major development program underway for its next-generation network — Iridium NEXT. Iridium Communications Inc. is headquartered in McLean, Va., U.S.A., and its common stock trades on the NASDAQ Global Sel ect Market under the ticker symbol IRDM. For more information about Iridium products, services and partner solutions, visit www.iridium.com (https://www.globenewswire.com/Tracker?data=LMl6dcg9pwuOCyh7bJWIDtLeQ-WzQZyjyq5D84gHCdqbM_SiWNunwbbTSuZ4AKqYe4wMOZlWCL12OQUxQgmhu-4VAamC61O4eNBf2A7qQPf-9FPxQle4cFW_y3CusRI7b19OnPfVgwVgvyuGFk2ID_98RGfG8s3SE7Nif6nPpAY2pFEy9EeqCXz9lBCfOKRBcE6ZfF0wSGJ1hYwThwz5T2WwgkoKX2YwIORs5tUbTMo=).
Forward Looking Statements
Statements in this press release that are not purely historical facts may constitute forward-looking statements as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The Company has based these statements on its current expectations and the information currently available to us. Forward-looking statements in this presentation include statements regarding the timing for deployment, development and capabilities of the Iridium NEXT constellation and services to be offered over the constellation, including the timing of the rideshare launch. Forward-looking statements can be identified by the words "anticipates," "may," "can," "believes," "expects," "projects," "intends," "likely," "will," "to be" and other expressions that are predictions or indicate future events, trends or prospects. These forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of Iridium to differ materially from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, uncertainties regarding potential delays in the Iridium NEXT deployment, the development and functionality of Iridium NEXT and related services, and the company's ability to maintain the health, capacity and content of its satellite constellation, as well as general industry and economic conditions, and competitive, legal, governmental and technological factors. Other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated by the forward-looking statements include those factors listed under the caption "Risk Factors" in the Company's Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2015, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC" )  on February 25, 2016, as well as other filings Iridium makes with the SEC from time to time. There is no assurance that Iridium's expectations will be realized. If one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or if Iridium's underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially fr om those expected, estimated or projected. Iridium's forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this press release, and Iridium undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking statements.
Название: Iridium NEXT.
Отправлено: itwik от 31.01.2017 19:06:33
ключевая фраза - как только одобрят.
Название: Iridium NEXT.
Отправлено: Salo от 07.02.2017 01:51:28
Цитировать (https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/185988.jpg) Peter B. de Selding ‏@pbdes  (https://twitter.com/pbdes)
 @Thales_Alenia_S (https://twitter.com/Thales_Alenia_S) & @OrbitalATK (https://twitter.com/OrbitalATK) have 22 @IridiumComm (https://twitter.com/IridiumComm) sats in storage; on track for April launch of 10 if @SpaceX (https://twitter.com/SpaceX) OK.
https://t.co/h2PXK0qvYS
Название: Iridium NEXT.
Отправлено: Salo от 07.02.2017 01:54:37
https://www.spaceintelreport.com/thales-22-iridium-next-satellites-are-ready-for-spacex-and-22-more-will-be-soon
ЦитироватьThales: 22 Iridium Next satellites are ready for SpaceX and 22 more will be soon
February 5, 2017

Bertrand Maureau, head of the telecommunications division of satellite builder Thales Alenia Space, said in-orbit tests of the first 10 Iridium Next satellites, launched Jan. 14 aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, have gone smoothly and are expected to be completed in April.
As a result, Thales Alenia Space and its subcontractor, Orbital ATK, have completed construction and ground testing of 22 more Iridium satellites, with an additional 22 nearing final integration. A second SpaceX launch of 10 Iridium Next satellites is scheduled for April.

CANNES, France — Iridium Next satellite prime contractor Thales Alenia Space on Feb. 3 said the successful early in-orbit tests of the first 10 Iridium Next satellites, launched Jan. 14, make it all but certain that deliveries of the 60 other satellites will occur as scheduled.
Thales Alenia Space is nonetheless sticking with its conservative estimates of when the coming launches will occur, especially since the schedule depends not only on Thales Alenia Space and its contracting team, including Orbital ATK, but also the readiness of launch provider SpaceX.
"The schedule depends on three things," said Bertrand Maureau, Thales's executive vice president for telecommunications at Thales Alenia Space. 
"First is the in-orbit validation of the first 10 satellites. That has been going very well and gives us all confidence. The second is the availability of other satellites, and we already have several in storage, ready for launch. The third is the availability of the launch vehicle," Maureau said here during a briefing largely devoted to civil-military SGDC satellite for the Brazilian government, scheduled for launch aboard a European Ariane 5 rocket on March 21, along with the Thales-built Koreasat-7 for the South Korean government.
It is common in the space industry for satellite builders and launch-service providers to downplay schedule issues hoping that the other supplier will be first to tell the customer of a problem.
22 satellites in storage, 10 more about there, and 12 in integration
But in the case of Iridium Next, the so-far, so-good testing of the first satellites' payload and platform in the three weeks since launch have allowed Thales to proceed with final integration of the follow-on satellites.
Maureau said 22 further Iridium Next satellites were ready for launch as of Feb. 3, with another 10 in final integration. Another 12 satellites were having their platforms and payloads integrated, meaning 44 of the 60 satellites to be launched on six SpaceX Falcon 9 rockets are just about completed.
Iridium and Thales Alenia Space in 2010 signed a $2.3 billion contract under which Thales would deliver 81 second-generation Iridium satellites. Seventy of these are to be launched on seven SpaceX Falcon 9 vehicles.
Iridium recently booked an eighth Falcon 9 launch, set for 2018, of five Iridium Next satellites and two scientific satellites for the U.S. and German space agencies.
Next Iridium SpaceX launches anticipated in April, July
Maureau said the current launch schedule, which is subject to change as SpaceX returns to full operations following a September failure during a prelaunch test, calls for a second SpaceX launch in April. He stressed that Iridium had not yet received formal notification from SpaceX of the launch date and that the schedule was in flux.
The third Iridium Next launch, he said, appears to be slated for sometime in July, closely following the launch to geostationary-transfer orbit of the Koreasat-5A satellite, built by Thales, aboard a Falcon 9.
Iridium Chief Executive Matt Desch said his company would be pressing Thales for a stepped-up rhythm of launches — assuming SpaceX readiness — so that a launch every two months, and even slightly more often, would be feasible starting with the third or fourth campaign.
Desch said this was not a source of friction with Thales and that he understood the manufacturer wanted a complete validation of the performance of the first 10 satellites before accepting an accelerated cadence.
"The idea was a launch every three months," Maureau said. "As of now we are in advance of our timeline and we should be able to get to every two and one-half months, or even every two months."
Название: Iridium NEXT.
Отправлено: Salo от 15.02.2017 17:06:34
Цитировать (https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/185988.jpg) Peter B. de Selding ‏@pbdes  (https://twitter.com/pbdes)  5 мин.5 минут назад (https://twitter.com/pbdes/status/831865448727715840)
Iridium drops other shoe: 2d 10-sat batch wont launch till June (was April) because of SpaceX logjam. Effect on overall IRDM sched TBD.
 (https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/156873.jpg)
Название: Iridium NEXT.
Отправлено: Salo от 15.02.2017 17:08:39
Цитировать (https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/185770.png) Iridium Corporate ‏@IridiumComm  (https://twitter.com/IridiumComm)  1 ч1 час назад (https://twitter.com/IridiumComm/status/831845516610777089)  
The second launch of 10 #IridiumNEXT (https://twitter.com/hashtag/IridiumNEXT?src=hash) satellites is now targeted for mid-June, also on @SpaceX (https://twitter.com/SpaceX) #Falcon9 (https://twitter.com/hashtag/Falcon9?src=hash) http://bit.ly/2lOCjL4  (https://t.co/aY282osZbC)
Название: Iridium NEXT.
Отправлено: Salo от 15.02.2017 17:29:01
http://investor.iridium.com/releasedetail.cfm?ReleaseID=1011939
ЦитироватьFeb 15, 2017
Iridium Announces Target Date for Second Launch of Iridium NEXT
Second of eight launches now expected mid-June

MCLEAN, Va., Feb. 15, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Iridium Communications Inc. (Nasdaq:IRDM) announced it has received a targeted launch date of mid-June for the second mission of ten Iridium NEXT satellites. Originally anticipated for mid-April of 2017, the date has shifted due to a backlog in SpaceX's launch manifest as a result of last year's September 1st anomaly. This second launch will deliver another ten Iridium NEXT satellites to low-Earth-orbit (LEO) on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. SpaceX is targeting six subsequent Iridium NEXT launches approximately every two months thereafter.

"After such a successful first launch, we are eager to maintain the momentum until our network is completed," said Matt Desch, chief executive officer at Iridium. "Even with this eight week shift, SpaceX's targeted schedule completes our constellation in mid-2018."

This announcement comes as Iridium has successfully connected the first Iridium NEXT satellite via its crosslinks into its global LEO constellation. The new satellite is expected to begin providing service to Iridium customers in the coming days. This marks a major milestone for the Iridium NEXT program as the testing and validation phase is ahead of schedule and the satellites are working well.

"Our team at our Satellite Network Operations Center has been working around-the-clock to confirm the health and performance of these new satellites," said Scott Smith, chief operating officer at Iridium. "Since their perfect orbit injection and deployment by SpaceX, our satellite testing process has progressed ahead of schedule, a testament to the rigorous development program they've undergone on the ground."

The upcoming mid-June launch will mark the second mission of eight Iridium NEXT launches with SpaceX, including the recently announced satellite rideshare with NASA and GFZ's Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment Follow-on mission (GRACE-FO). In total, Iridium currently has plans to launch 75 Iridium NEXT satellites — 66 to serve as operational satellites and nine as on-orbit spares.

For additional information about Iridium NEXT, please go to www.iridiumnext.com .
Название: Iridium NEXT.
Отправлено: tnt22 от 20.02.2017 18:01:57
Цитировать(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/185820.png) SPACE.com ‏@SPACEdotcom  (https://twitter.com/SPACEdotcom) 15 мин. назад (https://twitter.com/SPACEdotcom/status/833688948723445760)
 
SpaceX Delays Next Iridium Launch Two Months http://dlvr.it/NQph5Z  (https://t.co/k29lEfwZvM)
 
 (https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/157000.jpg)
Название: Iridium NEXT.
Отправлено: tnt22 от 20.02.2017 18:07:52
http://spacenews.com/spacex-delays-next-iridium-launch-two-months/
ЦитироватьSpaceX delays next Iridium launch two months
by Caleb Henry (http://spacenews.com/author/caleb-henry/) — February 15, 2017
Спойлер
(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/155674.jpg)A SpaceX Falcon 9 lifts off fr om Vandenberg Air Force Base, California, carrying 10 Iridium Next satellites. Credit: SpaceX
[свернуть]
WASHINGTON — Iridium Communications says SpaceX has pushed back the launch of its second batch of next-generation satellites from mid-April to mid-June, a move that shifts the expected completion date for Iridium Next to the middle of 2018.

In a Feb. 15 statement, Iridium said the two-monthly launch delay is "due to a backlog in SpaceX's launch manifest as a result of last year's September 1st anomaly."

Iridium's satellites are launching 10 at a time on Falcon 9 rockets lifting off from  from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California — part of what Iridium Chief Executive Matthew Desch described last June as a "separate queue" from SpaceX missions launching from the more frequently used Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. However, that was before a Falcon 9 exploded on the Cape's Pad 40 (http://spacenews.com/developing-explosion-rocks-spacex-falcon-9-pad-at-cape-canaveral/) during a routine pre-flight test. The accident halted SpaceX launches for four-and-half months. Falcon 9 returned to flight Jan. 14 (http://spacenews.com/falcon-9-returns-to-flight-with-successful-iridium-launch/) delivering the first 10 Iridium Next satellites to orbit.
 
SpaceX launched only eight of the 18 missions it had targeted for 2016, shifting 10 missions onto an already-crowded 2017 manifest. The combination of SpaceX's tightly packed manifest and limited launch range availability has put pressure on Iridium Next despite its preferred status at Vandenberg.

Iridium expects SpaceX to launch a fresh batch of Iridium satellites every two months starting with the mid-June launch. Iridium has seven more launches to complete: six with 10 satellites each and one with five that will be shared with a pair of U.S.-German science satellites dubbed the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment Follow-on mission (GRACE-FO).

"After such a successful first launch, we are eager to maintain the momentum until our network is completed," Desch said in a prepared statement. "Even with this eight-week shift, SpaceX's targeted schedule completes our constellation in mid-2018."

Though launches have been delayed, Iridium said in-orbit testing of the first 10 Iridium Next satellites launched Jan. 14 are ahead of schedule and should start service in the coming days.

"Since their perfect orbit injection and deployment by SpaceX, our satellite testing process has progressed ahead of schedule, a testament to the rigorous development program they've undergone on the ground," said Scott Smith, chief operating officer at Iridium.

Iridium has stitched the new satellites into its existing constellation wh ere they will interoperate until the first-generation satellites are deorbited. The satellite operator's current plan is to launch 75 out of 81 Iridium Next satellites, with 66 working operationally and nine as on-orbit spares. Iridium spokeswoman Diane Hockenberry told SpaceNews Feb. 15 that the remaining six spares will stay on the ground.

Previously Iridium planned to have only six in-orbit spares — one for each plane of satellites — but increased the number when the GRACE-FO shared launch opportunity (http://spacenews.com/iridium-buys-eighth-falcon-9-launch-shares-with-earth-science-mission/) became available.
Название: Iridium NEXT.
Отправлено: Salo от 23.02.2017 17:39:19
Цитировать (https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/185988.jpg) Peter B. de Selding‏@pbdes  (https://twitter.com/pbdes)  57 мин.57 минут назад (https://twitter.com/pbdes/status/834759988115603457)
IRDM CEO(2): The 1st Iridium Next sat is now in full service, filling a hole in our coverage. 8 more to be in service by mid-April.
 
  (https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/185988.jpg) Peter B. de Selding‏@pbdes  (https://twitter.com/pbdes)  58 мин.58 минут назад (https://twitter.com/pbdes/status/834759735668772864)  
 IRDM CEO: SpaceX says rocket-build rhythm improves after June & we shld get quicker rate for our 65 to-be-launched sats on 7 Falcon 9s.
Название: Iridium NEXT.
Отправлено: tnt22 от 23.02.2017 17:59:12
Цитировать(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/185770.png) Iridium CorporateПодлинная учетная запись‏@IridiumComm  (https://twitter.com/IridiumComm) 28 мин. назад (https://twitter.com/IridiumComm/status/834772329108496385)
 
SV106 is now the first SV placed into commercial operation. Learn what goes into a slot swap. #NEXTevolution (https://twitter.com/hashtag/NEXTevolution?src=hash) http://bit.ly/2kQ9hOz (https://t.co/R9CrAUZQgl)
http://blog.iridium.com/2017/02/23/first-iridium-next-satellite-now-active/
Название: Iridium NEXT.
Отправлено: Salo от 23.02.2017 18:02:08
http://blog.iridium.com/2017/02/23/first-iridium-next-satellite-now-active/
Название: Iridium NEXT.
Отправлено: Salo от 24.02.2017 00:49:49
https://www.spaceintelreport.com/iridium-says-2ndgeneration-satellites-working-flawlessly-as-financial-challenges-approach
ЦитироватьIridium says 2nd-generation satellites working flawlessly as financial challenges approach
February 23, 2017
 (https://static1.squarespace.com/static/585ac17dd2b8571a0a8d4478/t/58af45adf7e0ab64d5e3ecd2/1487881668860.jpg)
The Aireon global flight-tracking service, in which Iridium Communications is a large minority shareholder, owes Iridium $200 million in return for having Aireon ADS-B payloads aboard the Iridium Next satellite constellation.
Aireon has been unable to make the payment. As a consequence, Iridium is negotiating an amendment to its $1.8-billion credit facility, delaying payments to satellite prime contractor Thales Alenia Space and suspending dividend payments on its preferred stock. Iridium says the modifications mean the company has until early 2019 before it will need the Aireon cash.
Credit: Aireon

Key takeaways from Iridium's 4th quarter financial results:
— Co. says SpaceX has promised that the unexpected five-month gap, to June, between the first and second Iridium Next launches won't be repeated as the rocket builder builds a supply of vehicles.
Iridium paid SpaceX $67.9 million for an eighth launch, to occur in mid-2018, of a final five Iridium Next spacecraft. Two NASA-German science satellite passengers sharing the launch will finance $31.8 million of it.
Kosmotras of Russia still doesn't have Russian Defense Ministry approval to launch two Iridium satellites on the Russian-Ukrainian Dnepr rocket, for which Iridium has already paid $36.8 million — money that may never be repaid.
— Iridium is close to an agreement with satellite prime contractor Thales Alenia Space to delay some $500 million in payments due in 2017 and 2018 to preserve cash, and with its lenders to relax debt-service cash reserve requirements, to compensate for late-arriving cash from partner Aireon, a start-up aircraft tracking service.
 
PARIS — Mobile satellite services provider Iridium Communications on Feb. 23 said the first of the 10 second-generation satellites launched in January had been placed into service, filling one of two "holes" in the global network.
The second hole will be filed by one of the 10 satellites on the next launch, scheduled for June, which "will bring us back to full strength" in terms of coverage, Iridium Chief Executive Matt Desch said in a conference call with investors.
Eight of the 10 Iridium Next satellites launched in January will be in their respective operating locations by mid-April, each of them swapping places with a first-generation satellite. The older satellites will be removed from service and placed at a lower altitude for eventual de-orbiting.
Here's a video from Iridium about the satellite swap process:
http://bit.ly/2mcm26n
The remaining two satellites are being drifted into an adjacent orbital plane — Iridium's constellation has six plaines, each with 11 operating satellites — and should be in service by the end of 2017, Desch said.
Start-up aircraft tracking service Aireon, which is the principal fee-paying hosted payload on board the Iridium satellites, was expected to take control of the payload before the end of February and had already begun tracking, on a test basis, thousands of aircraft with Aireon's ADS-B, or Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast, service.
Harris-exactEarth AIS testing starts in March after antenna deployment
Another hosted-payload customer, Harris Corp., who with exactEarth of Canada has a ship-tracking payload on board four of the first 10 satellites, is expected to deploy its VHF antenna from the aft side of the Iridium spacecraft in March to begin testing.
"The testing and deployment of the satellites from Launch 1 is going about as well as anyone could have imagined," Desch said.
Iridium has hired SpaceX to conduct seven 10-satellite launches of the Iridium Next constellation. In November, Iridium purchased an eighth launch, to occur in mid-2018, to carry five Iridium satellites and two scientific satellites for Germany and NASA.
In a Feb. 23 filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Iridium said it paid $67.9 million for the launch. A NASA-German payload of two science satellites will share the launch and finance $31.8 million of the cost, Iridium said.
SpaceX's crowded manifest - 6 from Florida before Iridium at Vandenberg
The second SpaceX launch was supposed to occur in April, but SpaceX told Iridium it did not have enough rockets available to keep that date given the company's full manifest of customers. A mid-June launch is now planned, which means Iridium will wait an additional two months before filling the second of two holes in its coverage.
One industry official said SpaceX was juggling a long list of customers who are anxious to launch, and that the company has planned six campaigns from its Florida spaceport before proceeding with the Iridium launch from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California.
Upcoming launches include the EchoStar 23 commercial telecommunications satellite, a SpaceX Dragon supply freighter supplying the International Space Station under a NASA contract, the SES-10 commercial telecommunications satellite, to be the first launch using a previously used Falcon 9 first stage, the Intelsat 35e commercial telecommunications satellite, and the U.S. National Reconnaissance Office's NROL-76.
An NRO spokeswoman on Feb. 16 said the satellite's launch date had yet to be determined.
With its second-generation satellites now coming off the Thales Alenia Space-Orbital ATK production line in Arizona at a rate of one a week, and the SpaceX launch manifest beyond its control, Iridium is now focused on financial issues.
Credit facility amendment imminent to relieve near-term pressure
Iridium Chief Financial Officer Thomas J. Fitzpatrick said that in February the company has fully drawn on its principal credit facility, from the French export-credit agency, Coface, in the amount of $1.8 billion, to cover most of the cost of the Thales Alenia Space satellite manufacturing contract, valued at $2.3 billion.
From now on, Iridium will be paying its bills uniquely from its own cash on hand.
Because the Aireon commercial flight tracking service has not yet secured sufficient financing to pay its Iridium hosted-payload bill, Iridium has negotiated a delay in payments to Thales Alenia Space and delayed payment into a debt service repayment account, which had been required by the Coface-led lender group.
Under the amendment, the mandated level of $189 million to be kept in that account would be reduced by about $80 million but would need to be deposited by early 2019.
Iridium will also suspend payments of dividends on its preferred stock.
Aireon has agreed to pay Iridium $200 million to place the Aireon ADS-B flight-tracking payloads on all the Iridium Next satellites.
Fitzpatrick said he was optimistic that Aireon would be able to monetize the commitments it has received from several Air Navigation Service Providers (ANSPs), but that this would not happen immediately. Aireon is especially focused on securing the U.S. ANSP, the Federal Aviation Administration, as a customer.
Iridium had paid Thales Alenia Space $1.75 billion as of Dec. 31, leaving slightly more than $500 million remaining, which was to have been paid in 2017 and 2018.
With the Coface-led loan now fully drawn, Iridium is now funding operations from cash on hand and is scheduled to begin loan repayments by next September.
The agreement with Thales Alenia Space and the creditors "provides the cushion we need to absorb an Aireon delay of payments well into 2018," Fitzpatrick said. "We will need to have collected the Aireon hosting fee by the end of the first quarter of 2019, or made other arrangements, to repay Thales and fund the [debt service repayment account] at that time."
 
Peter B. de Selding
Название: Iridium NEXT.
Отправлено: Salo от 02.03.2017 19:08:58
Цитировать (https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/185770.png)  Iridium Corporate‏Подлинная учетная запись @IridiumComm  (https://twitter.com/IridiumComm)  2 ч.2 часа назад (https://twitter.com/IridiumComm/status/837303556675944448)  
1st #IridiumNEXT (https://twitter.com/hashtag/IridiumNEXT?src=hash) active SV106, has achieved handoff @AireonLLC (https://twitter.com/AireonLLC) for ADS-B testing. The future of true global air traffic surveillance is near
Цитировать  (https://twitter.com/AireonLLC/status/837287667075268608)  
 Aireon @AireonLLC  
It's official! #Aireon has taken full control of our 1st ADS-B payload. Already validating & pushing the limits. http://ow.ly/miFM309ufOI 
Название: Iridium NEXT.
Отправлено: tnt22 от 10.03.2017 00:51:32
Цитировать(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/185770.png) Iridium Corporate‏Подлинная учетная запись @IridiumComm  (https://twitter.com/IridiumComm) 7 ч. назад (https://twitter.com/IridiumComm/status/839853295321645057)
 
SNOC Report: SV109 is now fully integrated into the network replacing legacy SV77 #NEXTevolution (https://twitter.com/hashtag/NEXTevolution?src=hash)
Название: Iridium NEXT.
Отправлено: Salo от 11.03.2017 00:36:01
https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2017/03/spacex-falcon-9-echostar-23-slc-40-return/
ЦитироватьOn the West Coast, three missions have set placeholders for launch from Vandenberg, namely Iridium 2 on June 17, the Formosat-5 mission on July 22 and Iridium-3 on August 24.
Название: Iridium NEXT.
Отправлено: tnt22 от 01.04.2017 23:36:33
Цитировать (https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/67496.jpg) Matt Desch‏ @IridiumBoss (https://twitter.com/IridiumBoss) 3 ч. назад (https://twitter.com/IridiumBoss/status/848224646768054274)

As of today, 4 of the 10 @IridiumNEXT (https://twitter.com/IridiumNEXT) sats from 1st launch are in mission. 3 slot swaps so far - 4 more planned for next week! Drifting 2.
(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/157736.jpg)
Название: Iridium NEXT.
Отправлено: tnt22 от 27.04.2017 15:54:42
Цитировать (https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/67496.jpg) Matt Desch‏ @IridiumBoss (https://twitter.com/IridiumBoss) 33 мин. назад (https://twitter.com/IridiumBoss/status/857570216687128576)

Announced Iridium NEXT launch #2 date this morning: Thurs, June 29, 1:04pm pdt. Will start sending sats to VAFB soon. T minus 9 weeks!
(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/29236.jpg)
Название: Iridium NEXT.
Отправлено: tnt22 от 29.04.2017 01:02:45
https://spaceflightnow.com/2017/04/28/iridium-hails-performance-of-new-satellites-targets-four-more-launches-this-year/
ЦитироватьIridium hails performance of new satellites, targets four more launches this year

 April 28, 2017 (https://spaceflightnow.com/2017/04/) Stephen Clark (https://spaceflightnow.com/author/stephen-clark/)
Спойлер
(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/126378.jpg)
Artist's concept of an Iridium Next satellite in space. Credit: Thales Alenia Space
[свернуть]
Eight of Iridium's first ten upgraded communications satellites launched in January started providing voice and data relay service ahead of schedule, and SpaceX says it can launch up to 40 more Iridium spacecraft by the end of the year, Iridium officials reported Thursday.
Спойлер
"I'm happy to report that our initial batch of Iridium Next satellites are now fully operational and working very well," said Matt Desch, CEO of Virginia-based of Iridium Communications.

Engineers are repositioning the other two new-generation Iridium spacecraft in orbit to replace other satellites, part of a "highly-choreographed process" to complete a refresh of the company's entire constellation by mid-2018, Desch said Thursday in a quarterly earnings call with investment analysts.

The first eight Iridium Next satellites entered service in March and early April, taking the place of aging first-generation spacecraft launched in the late 1990s.

After their deployment from the second stage of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, the satellites boosted their altitude from a 388-mile-high (625-kilometer) drop-off orbit into the operational constellation at an altitude of 485 miles (780 kilometers) alongside the craft they were intended to replace.

Ground controllers then instantaneously switched off the inter-satellite communications links on the old satellite and turned on the links on the new craft, a procedure Iridium calls a slot swap.
[свернуть]
The Iridium fleet consists of 66 operational satellites distributed in six orbital tracks, with 11 slots in each plane. The remaining two Iridium Next satellites deployed into Plane 6 on Jan. 14 are drifting into a different plane, a movement that will take around 10 months.
Спойлер
"We completed the commissioning of these Iridium Next satellites about one week ahead of schedule, which is a real testament to the planning and preparation of our satellite operations team," Desch said. "What's important is that our experience with in-orbit testing, slot swaps and the new satellite performance gives us confidence that we'll be able to manage the roughly 60-day launch cycle (we're) targeting following the second launch."
[свернуть]
Iridium's next 10 satellites are set for launch June 29 aboard another Falcon 9 booster. Desch said the spacecraft will begin shipping from their factory in Gilbert, Arizona, to the Vandenberg launch base in mid-May for fueling and attachment with the rocket's multi-payload dispenser, which accommodates the 10 satellites inside the Falcon 9 nose cone.
Спойлер
SpaceX and Vandenberg Air Force Base officials have confirmed the June 29 launch target, according to Desch.

The June 29 launch is set for 1:02 p.m. PDT (2002 GMT; 4:02 p.m. EDT), according to Iridium. That is timed to place the next 10 satellites into Plane 3 of the Iridium network.

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/126379.jpg)
A Falcon 9 rocket launches Jan. 14 with the first 10 Iridium Next satellites. Credit: SpaceX
[свернуть]
The Iridium Next assembly line in Arizona, managed by Orbital ATK in partnership with satellite-designer Thales Alenia Space, is producing spacecraft at a rate to manufacture all of the Iridium Next satellites by the end of 2017, Desch said.
Спойлер
Thales Alenia Space and Orbital ATK have manufactured more than 40 of the 81 Iridium Next satellites under contract, according to Desch.

Iridium originally planned to launch 70 of the Iridium Next satellites on seven Falcon 9 rockets by the end of 2017, but SpaceX launch delays caused by rocket failures and production bottlenecks have pushed that target to mid-2018.

At the time of the Jan. 14 launch, SpaceX and Iridium aimed to launch the second group of Iridium Next satellites in April. But Iridium announced in February that liftoff of the next batch of Iridium Next platforms would be delayed two more months, citing rocket production issues and a cramped launch manifest at SpaceX.

Desch said Thursday that SpaceX has upped its production and launch tempo.

"With SpaceX increasing cadence on production and launch, they've also provided us launch dates for three more launches in 2017 — in August, October and December." he said. "So we're hoping they stay on track as we're ready to deploy satellites as soon as they can launch them."

Iridium booked an eighth launch with SpaceX earlier this year, a mission that will loft five more Iridium Next satellites, committing the company to launch at least 75 of the 81 new-generation spacecraft on Falcon 9 rockets. The extra launch will take off in early 2018 in tandem with two U.S.-German research satellites to make the best-ever measurements of Earth's gravity field.

The upgraded $3 billion Iridium Next network will offer faster broadband connections, improved functionality and 3G-equivalent cellular phone services for Iridium's pool of nearly 870,000 subscribers, a client list that includes the U.S. military, oil and gas companies, aviation and maritime operators, and mining and construction contractors.

"The satellites' faster processors, larger memory and modern engineering design are delivering better voice quality as well as faster data throughput for our maritime, aviation and IoT (Internet of Things) customers," Desch said. "While our current network is performing amazingly well for its age, the statistics for our newest satellites are even better.

"I can't wait for coming launches and the impact of the additional (Iridium) Next satellites will have on the overall work performance, and that's even before we introduce new services," he said.

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/126380.png)
Artist's illustration of the Iridium constellation. Credit: Thales Alenia Space
[свернуть]
All of the Iridium Next satellites now entering service also carry piggyback payloads for Aireon, an affiliate of Iridium, to help air traffic controllers track airplane movements worldwide. Four of the Iridium Next satellites launched in January host an antenna to monitor maritime traffic for exactEarth, a Canadian company, and Harris Corp. of Melbourne, Florida.
Спойлер
Tom Fitzpatrick, Iridium's chief financial officer, said Thursday that the company is now earning its first revenue from the new Iridium Next satellites.

"For the first time this quarter, we are realizing revenue from hosting and data services on our first batch of Iridium Next satellites," Fitzpatrick said.

"In Q1, we realized less than $100,000 in revenue from Aireon and Harris Corp. based upon several Iridium Next satellites been put into service during the quarter," Fitzpatrick said. "With eight next generations that now operational, we anticipate the revenue from hosting and data services will continue to ramp with each successful launch and incremental Iridium Next satellites placed into service in 2017."

Aireon took control of the first airspace monitoring payload on an Iridium Next satellite in early March, kicking off tests to verify the orbiting instruments can locate aircraft around the world.

Air traffic authorities in Canada, Ireland, Italy and Denmark are part of the Aireon joint venture with Iridium.

Organizations responsible for managing airspace in France and Spain have signed agreements with Aireon since the January launch to evaluate the airplane tracking service, and the Federal Aviation Administration conducted the first test of the Aireon system using a flying laboratory in March to check its performance for potential use by U.S. air traffic controllers.

"A flight test coordinated with the FAA was the ultimate validation accomplishment for the Aireon system to date and is a textbook example of how a public-private partnership can thrive," said Vinny Capezzuto, chief technology officer and vice president of engineering at Aireon.
[свернуть]
The arrival of new Iridium Next satellites in orbit allows engineers to retire older satellites.
Спойлер
Desch said Iridium decommissioned the first of its now-disused satellites, Space Vehicle No. 4, a few weeks ago. The satellite, which launched on a Delta 2 rocket in November 1997, fired thrusters to lower its orbit below the Iridium fleet, emptied its propellant tanks, depleted its batteries, opened its electrical relays and positioned its solar panels for maximum drag, he said.

The maneuvers ensure most Iridium satellites will re-enter the atmosphere and burn up with a year after completing the decommissioning procedures, according to Desch.

Two more aging Iridium satellites will go through a similar process in the next few weeks, he said.

Some of the healthiest first-generation satellites will be moved to a temporary storage orbit around 12 miles (20 kilometers) below the operational constellation as spares.

"Those legacy satellites lowered to storage orbit will be maintained as contingency measures until all 75 Iridium Next satellites are in service," Desch said. "As a practice, we're keeping the best of the legacy satellites in orbit as either operational satellites or temporary spares, and then we'll de-orbit the rest pretty quickly."

"We will continue this process for all legacy satellites that we aren't using as temporary spares, and will eventually de-orbit all the Block 1 spares after Iridium Next is completed next year," Desch said.
[свернуть]
Skywatchers used to observing Iridium satellites, known for their bright flares around sunrise and sunset, should be sure to catch a glimpse over the next year. The design of the company's refreshment satellites is not expected to produce the flares.
Название: Iridium NEXT.
Отправлено: Salo от 03.05.2017 00:05:37
Цитировать (https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/185988.jpg)  Peter B. de Selding‏ @pbdes (https://twitter.com/pbdes)  7 ч.7 часов назад (https://twitter.com/pbdes/status/859414973180776450)
Clarification on @IridiumComm (https://twitter.com/IridiumComm): 8 of 10 2d-gen sats are in operation; 2 others have been tested & are drifting to final orbits as planned.
Название: Iridium NEXT.
Отправлено: tnt22 от 03.05.2017 08:13:20
Цитировать (https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/185770.png) Iridium Corporate‏Подлинная учетная запись @IridiumComm (https://twitter.com/IridiumComm) 14 ч. назад (https://twitter.com/IridiumComm/status/859410428698525696)

Thrilled to share successful integration of 1st 8 #IridiumNEXT (https://twitter.com/hashtag/IridiumNEXT?src=hash) SV's (2 drifting) & 2nd @SpaceX (https://twitter.com/SpaceX) launch date for 6/29! http://bit.ly/2oTI9QM (https://t.co/ZbJwPe4MYc)
http://investor.iridium.com/releasedetail.cfm?ReleaseID=1023920
Цитировать
May 2, 2017PDF (http://investor.iridium.com/common/download/download.cfm?companyid=ABEA-3ERWFI&fileid=940273&filekey=14D776D9-173E-46AD-A874-35F1BC280C4B&filename=1023920.pdf)

Iridium Announces Successful Completion of First-Launch Iridium NEXT Satellites Activities and Second Launch Date

Next-Generation Satellites are Actively Serving Iridium® Network Customers, While the Company Prepares for the Second Launch

MCLEAN, Va., May 02, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Iridium Communications Inc. (NASDAQ:IRDM), the only communications company with 100 percent global coverage, has announced that the first set of Iridium NEXT (https://www.globenewswire.comtracker?data=IlhEtqxoL5YPqctfECBL8nmKjxQ6VJxGfLgvkBLI21toGg-6tqJTgQVKUTlXhViIZi5J9D0kmRcte_8XE717ZQ==) satellites have been integrated into the operational constellation and are providing excellent service to Iridium customers. Prior to achieving this major program milestone, the new satellites went through a rigorous testing and validation process that demonstrated that they met all performance requirements and even exceeded many. The Iridium NEXT satellites are already providing superior call quality and faster data speeds with increased capacity to Iridium customers. In addition, the Company has announced the targeted launch date for the second payload of ten Iridium NEXT satellites as June 29, 2017, at 1:02pm PDT, with an instantaneous launch window. All planned Iridium NEXT launches will take place from SpaceX's west coast launch facility at Vandenberg Air Force Base (VAFB) in California, on Falcon 9 rockets.
Спойлер
The testing and validation process for the Iridium NEXT satellite constellation involved a thorough test of each of Iridium's services, an assessment of each satellite's performance against established metrics, and a formal acceptance process between Iridium and Thales, thus ensuring a smooth integration into Iridium's existing network architecture. Once completed for each new satellite, a precisely orchestrated process of replacing the original Iridium® satellite with a new Iridium NEXT satellite, known as a 'slot swap (https://www.globenewswire.com/Tracker?data=AV2LSWFmpx5d2hwvRGRHFopLLKIjPhAhxfnZUoSHqQNv4KYZQOJz6DdeHMFm6sxO2CgXU1PjxcMHdAc8A0ZlYI0yPz5mPgEG3Tz6WPDfqIw=)' is completed. To date, the team at Iridium's Satellite Network Operations Center (SNOC) has successfully completed three individual slot swaps, and two dual slot swaps. Two of the new satellites are currently drifting to their assigned orbital plane.

"To say that I am proud of the Iridium satellite network operations team is an understatement," said Scott Smith, chief operating officer at Iridium. "Conducting multiple slot swaps to replace a network of this magnitude is an incredible task, and only Iridium has the team and technical capacity to manage this project. We have been preparing for this process for years, and since first launch the team has worked non-stop to manage each maneuver to successfully integrate the new satellites into the active network. We are thrilled to say that these new satellites are exceeding expectations and are already delivering faster speeds to our customers."

The Iridium NEXT satellites are manufactured by Thales Alenia Space, the prime contractor, and assembled at Orbital ATK's facility in Gilbert, Arizona. Thales Alenia Space has been tasked with certifying these next-generation satellite vehicles, all while maintaining a demanding manufacturing timetable to meet Iridium's launch schedule.

"We are deploying the largest satellite constellation in the world, and it works! We met challenges that were unprecedented in the space sector, in terms of end-to-end system performance and production rate," said Bertrand Maureau, executive vice president, telecommunication at Thales Alenia Space. "Seeing the satellites exceed our expectations and be smoothly integrated into the existing network was one of the top highlights in our company's history. Iridium NEXT is an extraordinary story, and we are both proud and greatly moved to have successfully passed this major milestone. In our industry, when things go as planned and even exceed expectations, it's an impressive achievement, and we are very excited to be looking forward to the second launch."

The late-June launch will deliver the second set of ten Iridium NEXT satellites into low-earth orbit, bringing the total count to 20 Iridium NEXT satellites in space. A total of 75 satellites will be launched over eight launches, and are expected to be completed by mid-2018. A network replacement of this size and scale has never been achieved before, and Iridium NEXT has been coined one of the largest "tech refreshes" in history. The new constellation is the first step in delivering Iridium's next-generation portfolio of communications services, called Iridium CertusSM, and will also introduce new revolutionary technologies and services like the AireonSM space-based ADS-B aircraft surveillance and flight tracking network.

To learn more about the process of a satellite "slot swap," visit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TsxWqRiC7m8 (https://www.globenewswire.com/Tracker?data=clbTuEfuplTqx6zQ3oJz-TfYAt7PS2lEkMQ07BJN_iVHDKc8xc9Q_f8eL_zPA2CyExhKNq1OGm_kTKMT825uavFJ6LnYpZ3SH-RBfu9HSiLHw1LsHGb_mXSJZ3zzmMueh96K-Lc3epW1D1QFAntR8A==). For real-time updates about the Iridium NEXT program, please go to www.IridiumNext.com (https://www.globenewswire.com/Tracker?data=6pjAOKPt7TbCnPbLbQOfgfD6u3ybD9-u9NDxLX_82A8Ux1Jofho-igLF0LWmSq4AE9zO-Not6Ku-R4LWwPR78FMztrqPzIhPI9FACObvSp0=) and follow Iridium on Facebook (Iridium Communications), Twitter (@IridiumComm) and LinkedIn (Iridium).
Спойлер
About Iridium Communications Inc.
Iridium is the only mobile voice and data satellite communications network that spans the entire globe. Iridium enables connections between people, organizations and assets to and from anywhere, in real time. Together with its ecosystem of partner companies, Iridium delivers an innovative and rich portfolio of reliable solutions for markets that require truly global communications. The company has a major development program underway for its next-generation network — Iridium NEXT. Iridium Communications Inc. is headquartered in McLean, Va., U.S.A., and its common stock trades on the NASDAQ Global Sel ect Market under the ticker symbol IRDM. For more information about Iridium products, services and partner solutions, visit www.iridium.com (https://www.globenewswire.com/Tracker?data=Z2dXnRSPib8KzvMYfohZHuBpYsGFC0kPzv9XpMQj0W-_j8-ISD75RRz6qkDGlXbmQ2god_PERciu6OlTJYbrMQ==).

Forward Looking Statements

Statements in this press release that are not purely historical facts may constitute forward-looking statements as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The Company has based these statements on its current expectations and the information currently available to us. Forward-looking statements in this presentation include statements regarding the timing for deployment, development and capabilities of the Iridium NEXT constellation and services to be offered over the constellation. Forward-looking statements can be identified by the words "anticipates," "may," "can," "believes," "expects," "projects," "intends," "likely," "will," "to be" and other expressions that are predictions or indicate future events, trends or prospects. These forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of Iridium to differ materially from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, uncertainties regarding potential delays in the Iridium NEXT deployment, the development and functionality of Iridium NEXT and related services, and the company's ability to maintain the health, capacity and content of its current satellite constellation, as well as general industry and economic conditions, and competitive, legal, governmental and technological factors. Other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated by the forward-looking statements include those factors listed under the caption "Risk Factors" in the Company's Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2016, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC" ) on February 23, 2017, as well as other filings Iridium makes with the SEC from time to time. There is no assurance that Iridium's expectations will be realized. If one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or if Iridium's underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially fr om those expected, estimated or projected. Iridium's forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this press release, and Iridium undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking statements.
[свернуть]
Press Contact:
Jordan Hassin
Iridium Communications Inc.
+1 202-232-6601
Jordan.Hassin@Iridium.com
Twitter: @IridiumComm

Investor Contact:
Kenneth Levy
Iridium Communications Inc.
+1 (703) 287-7570
Ken.Levy@Iridium.com
Twitter: @IridiumIR
[свернуть]
Название: Iridium NEXT.
Отправлено: tnt22 от 17.05.2017 19:24:50
Цитировать (https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/186029.jpg) Christian Daniels‏ @CJDaniels77 (https://twitter.com/CJDaniels77) 5 ч назад (https://twitter.com/CJDaniels77/status/864808641722949632)

Any idea when the rocket and your space birds will be arriving in Vandenberg? 2/2

 (https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/67496.jpg) Matt Desch‏ @IridiumBoss (https://twitter.com/IridiumBoss)

Start shipping satellites this weekend; rocket stages show up next week...
Название: Iridium NEXT.
Отправлено: Apollo13 от 18.05.2017 09:25:52
https://www.reddit.com/r/SpaceXLounge/comments/6brdfb/first_stage_spotted_westbound/

Предположительно ступень 1036 поехала из Макгрегора в Ванденберг.
Название: Iridium NEXT.
Отправлено: Apollo13 от 18.05.2017 09:29:06
Ее история

4/23/2017      At Hawthorne as of April 23, 2017. Sitting on the production floor.
5/2/2017      En-route to McGregor, TX as of May 2, 2017. Spotted in Marana, AZ. 
5/17/2017      En route to Vandenberg as of May 17, 2017. Spotted heading westbound on I-10 in AZ
Название: Iridium NEXT.
Отправлено: tnt22 от 22.05.2017 17:55:44
Цитировать (https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/67496.jpg) Matt Desch‏ @IridiumBoss (https://twitter.com/IridiumBoss) 2 мин. назад (https://twitter.com/IridiumBoss/status/866667939688321025)

First two Iridium NEXT sats are on the road to VAFB for Launch #2! Tracking, of course, by Iridium M2M/IoT. F9 Stage 1 there now too
(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/162476.jpg)
Название: Iridium NEXT.
Отправлено: tnt22 от 22.05.2017 18:03:02
Цитировать (https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/67496.jpg) Matt Desch‏ @IridiumBoss (https://twitter.com/IridiumBoss) 3 мин. назад (https://twitter.com/IridiumBoss/status/866669571129966592)

And here are the those first two Iridium NEXT satellites for Launch 2 arriving at VAFB. I'm hoping visibility is much better on June 29th!
(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/162480.jpg)
Название: Iridium NEXT.
Отправлено: tnt22 от 15.06.2017 14:54:28
Цитировать (https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/30497.jpg) Thales Alenia Space‏ @Thales_Alenia_S (https://twitter.com/Thales_Alenia_S) 14 июн. (https://twitter.com/Thales_Alenia_S/status/874923654907351040)

First 10 #Iridium (https://twitter.com/hashtag/Iridium?src=hash) #NEXT (https://twitter.com/hashtag/NEXT?src=hash) satellites, built by @Thales_Alenia_S (https://twitter.com/Thales_Alenia_S) , now validated in orbit http://thls.co/m9qu30czV0f  (https://t.co/GWOHeslaeY) @IridiumComm (https://twitter.com/IridiumComm)
(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/163598.jpg)
https://www.thalesgroup.com/en/worldwide/space/press-release/first-ten-satellites-iridium-next-constellation-built-thales-alenia
Цитировать
First ten satellites in the Iridium NEXT constellation, built by Thales Alenia Space, now validated in orbit

| 14.06.2017 |

Second batch of satellites ready for a launch scheduled on June 25
Cannes, June 14, 2017 - Following the launch of the first ten Iridium NEXT satellites in January 2017, their commissioning has proceeded very smoothly, as they passed all in-orbit tests with flying colors.

These satellites are now interconnected, and are operating in full compatibility with the initial Block One constellation.

Having passed this milestone, the second batch of ten satellites is now ready for launch on June 25 by SpaceX from the Vandenberg Air Force base in California.
Спойлер
(https://www.thalesgroup.com/sites/default/files/styles/resp_custom_user_wide_1x/public/assets/images/iridium_next_2nd_batch_1100_0_1_0_0_0_0_0.jpg?itok=vEWYfDh7×tamp=1497432359)
© SpaceX

"The challenge for Thales Alenia Space was not just to deliver the satellites, but above all to commission the entire turnkey system and make sure that the two generations of satellites were fully compatible," said Bertrand Maureau, Executive Vice President, Telecommunication at Thales Alenia Space. "Our success in this operation clearly confirms our skills and expertise as a leading prime contractor for complex telecommunications systems."

The Iridium NEXT constellation offers global connectivity thanks to 66 interconnected satellites at an altitude of 780 km, along with nine spares in parking orbit and six more spare satellites on the ground. Totally independent from other any ground network, this international system provides unrivaled capability for communications on the move (individuals, land vehicles, aircraft, ships), and ensures full global coverage, including the oceans.

...
[свернуть]
Название: Iridium NEXT.
Отправлено: tnt22 от 20.06.2017 00:21:18
Цитировать (https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/67521.jpg) Stephen Clark‏ @StephenClark1 (https://twitter.com/StephenClark1) 3 ч. назад (https://twitter.com/StephenClark1/status/876860410410004480)

Iridium's Matt Desch says company might be open to launching on a previously-flown Falcon 9 in 2nd half of eight-launch series next year.
Название: Iridium NEXT.
Отправлено: tnt22 от 07.07.2017 22:43:45
Цитировать (https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/185770.png) Iridium Corporate‏Подлинная учетная запись @IridiumComm (https://twitter.com/IridiumComm) 6 июл. (https://twitter.com/IridiumComm/status/883025341983453184)

#IridiumNEXT (https://twitter.com/hashtag/IridiumNEXT?src=hash) SVs go through rigorous testing and validation. Here's a quick glance of the path to full network integration. #NEXTevolution (https://twitter.com/hashtag/NEXTevolution?src=hash)
(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/164478.jpg)
Название: Iridium NEXT.
Отправлено: tnt22 от 08.07.2017 00:56:37
Iridium marks new satellite network, 20 healthy satellites & 55 more to launch (https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2017/07/iridium-satellite-network-55-more/)
Название: Iridium NEXT.
Отправлено: tnt22 от 13.07.2017 21:13:12
ЦитироватьIridium NEXT - An Innovation Engine, Enhancing the Communications Fabric of the Planet

 (https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/220762.jpg)  (https://www.youtube.com/user/IridiumComm) IridiumComm (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZ6-3U3gUwQHvQ1jyj4dOpQ)

Опубликовано: 25 июн. 2017 г.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9OXosKnmvEchttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9OXosKnmvEc (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9OXosKnmvEc) (2:50)
Название: Iridium NEXT.
Отправлено: tnt22 от 13.07.2017 21:16:43
ЦитироватьA Partnership Launching a New Generation of Space

 (https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/220762.jpg)  (https://www.youtube.com/user/IridiumComm) IridiumComm (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZ6-3U3gUwQHvQ1jyj4dOpQ)

Опубликовано: 25 июн. 2017 г.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O35hOO2HBjchttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O35hOO2HBjc (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O35hOO2HBjc) (2:23)
Название: Iridium NEXT.
Отправлено: tnt22 от 05.09.2017 23:06:04
Из переписки
Цитировать (https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/67496.jpg) Matt Desch‏ @IridiumBoss (https://twitter.com/IridiumBoss) 20 ч назад (https://twitter.com/IridiumBoss/status/904853448960696320)

7th and 8th sats for Launch #3 just pulled out to head towards VAFB. I feel better knowing there's a guard riding along to protect them!
(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/166411.jpg)


 (https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/185363.jpg) G C‏ @SmileSimplify (https://twitter.com/SmileSimplify) 20 ч назад (https://twitter.com/SmileSimplify/status/904854650108624896)

How many sats will be part of launch 3? Ten, or fewer?


 (https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/67496.jpg) Matt Desch‏ @IridiumBoss (https://twitter.com/IridiumBoss)
20 ч назад (https://twitter.com/IridiumBoss/status/904855169657171968)

В ответ @SmileSimplify (https://twitter.com/SmileSimplify)

Ten. Always 10, except Launch 6 will be a rideshare with GRACE, and that one will launch 5.
Название: Iridium NEXT.
Отправлено: tnt22 от 22.09.2017 01:25:03
ЦитироватьWhat Sets us Apart - Adaptability

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/220762.jpg) (https://www.youtube.com/user/IridiumComm) IridiumComm (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZ6-3U3gUwQHvQ1jyj4dOpQ)

Опубликовано: 21 сент. 2017 г.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n1PxtGgJzl8https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n1PxtGgJzl8 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n1PxtGgJzl8) (0:52)
Название: Iridium NEXT.
Отправлено: Max Andriyahov от 22.09.2017 05:07:12
"Обновленная информация по миссиям Iridium NEXT Flight 3 и EchoStar-105/SES-11

Компания Iridium Communications сообщила, что все десять спутников для миссии Iridium NEXT Flight 3 находятся на базе ВВС Ванденберг, Калифорния. На данный момент спутники смонтированы на диспенсеры, осуществляется их заправка (топливный бак спутника вмещает 141 кг гидразина). Ракета-носитель и компоненты обтекателя также уже на месте, ведутся подготовительные работы. Третий из восьми пусков для спутниковой группировки Iridium Next должен состояться 4 октября в 16.06 по московскому времени. В ходе миссии планируется посадка первой ступени на плавучую автономную платформу.

Всего двумя днями ранее, 2 октября, запланирован запуск телекоммуникационного спутника EchoStar-105/SES-11 со стартовой площадки LC-39A. Ориентировочная дата статического прожига первой ступени - не ранее 29 сентября. Компания SES подтвердила, что спутник, находившийся в ангаре во время урагана "Ирма", не получил повреждений. Запуск аппарата массой 5200 кг осуществит ракета-носитель Falcon 9, первая ступень которой уже использовалась ранее во время миссии CRS-10. В зону покрытия спутника, который заменит AMC-15, войдут Северная и Южная Америка, включая Аляску, Карибский бассейн, Гавайи и Мексику. "
Название: Iridium NEXT.
Отправлено: tnt22 от 28.09.2017 09:55:46
ЦитироватьWhat Sets us Apart - Global Coverage

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/220762.jpg) (https://www.youtube.com/user/IridiumComm) IridiumComm (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZ6-3U3gUwQHvQ1jyj4dOpQ)

Опубликовано: 26 сент. 2017 г.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vrrvKiC35K0https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vrrvKiC35K0 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vrrvKiC35K0) (0:49)
Название: Iridium NEXT.
Отправлено: tnt22 от 06.10.2017 09:55:20
ЦитироватьOrbitalATK and Iridium NEXT

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/220773.jpg) (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLr1shBflPt0esLOrNFqAPA) Orbital ATK (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLr1shBflPt0esLOrNFqAPA)

Опубликовано: 5 окт. 2017 г.

Under a contract from Thales Alenia Space, Orbital ATK is assembling and testing the 81 Iridium NEXT satellites at its Gilbert, Arizona satellite manufacturing facility. Orbital ATK engineers highlight the challenges and rewards of working on this exciting program.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FwK-HX3JWtwhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FwK-HX3JWtw (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FwK-HX3JWtw) (5:10)
Название: Iridium NEXT.
Отправлено: tnt22 от 17.10.2017 10:24:33
ЦитироватьIridium NEXT Powering New Capabilities

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/220762.jpg) (https://www.youtube.com/user/IridiumComm) IridiumComm (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZ6-3U3gUwQHvQ1jyj4dOpQ)

Опубликовано: 16 окт. 2017 г.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ho3JcjVURLwhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ho3JcjVURLw (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ho3JcjVURLw) (1:03)
Название: Iridium NEXT.
Отправлено: Apollo13 от 20.10.2017 15:56:17
ЦитироватьMatt Desch‏ @IridiumBoss (https://twitter.com/IridiumBoss)  19h19 hours ago (https://twitter.com/IridiumBoss/status/921070386640556032)

Replying to @vjerkov (https://twitter.com/vjerkov)

Comfort that risk <= than new and more schedule certainty to complete 5 more launches over next 8 months. Cost is better, but not driver.

Название: Iridium NEXT.
Отправлено: tnt22 от 23.10.2017 06:00:50
https://spaceflightnow.com/2017/10/20/iridium-swaps-two-new-falcon-9-rockets-for-flight-proven-boosters/
ЦитироватьIridium swaps two new Falcon 9 rockets for "flight-proven" boosters
October 20, 2017 (https://spaceflightnow.com/2017/10/) Stephen Clark (https://spaceflightnow.com/author/stephen-clark/)

Citing schedule concerns over price benefits, Iridium announced Thursday it will launch its next 20 satellites on a pair of previously-flown Falcon 9 boosters from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, beginning with a Dec. 22 mission.

Iridium previously planned to launch all its satellites on newly-manufactured rockets under a $492 million contract with SpaceX signed in 2010, but the company kept open the option to switch to previously-flown boosters if the change met certain schedule, risk and cost metrics.
Спойлер
(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/127030.jpg)
A Falcon 9 first stage lands on a drone ship in the Pacific Ocean in June following a liftoff with Iridium satellites. Credit: SpaceX

Matt Desch, Iridium's CEO, told Spaceflight Now in an interview Thursday that the agreement will help ensure the deployment of the company's next-generation voice and data relay network, comprising up to 81 satellites, remains on schedule for completion by mid-2018.

"In terms of schedule, I certainly felt comfortable that it was going to keep or improve the overall schedule," Desch said. "We have a very aggressive plan to have five more launches over the next eight months, and I realize that working with previously-flown, flight-proven boosters was going to help SpaceX and ourselves keep on track to that launch schedule."

Iridium said the fourth flight of the company's eight-launch campaign with SpaceX is set for no earlier than Dec. 22 from Space Launch Complex 4-East at Vandenberg Air Force Base, a facility on the Pacific coast northwest of Los Angeles. Launch time is set for 5:26 p.m. PST (8:26 p.m. EST; 0126 GMT on Dec. 23).

SpaceX will launch 10 more satellites for the Iridium Next constellation into orbit 388 miles (625 kilometers) above Earth, moving the fleet to the halfway point in deployments.

Iridium has contracted with Thales Alenia Space and Orbital ATK to build 81 satellites to replace the company's aging spacecraft, providing uninterrupted global messaging and telephone service, and introducing new higher-bandwidth applications, such as video.

Seventy-five of the satellites are booked for launch on SpaceX Falcon 9 rockets — one of the missions will only carry five Iridium payloads in a shared ride with two U.S.-German research satellites — and thirty of the Iridium Next platforms are already in orbit from three successful Falcon 9 flights in January, June and on Oct. 9.

Iridium hoped to have the Iridium Next constellation fully operational by the end of 2017, but delays in satellite production, followed by a four-month interruption in SpaceX's launch manifest last year after a rocket failure, pushed back the schedule.

"With the new services we have available with the Next satellites, we really want to take advantage of those and ensure that we complete the network in mid-2018 as planned," Desch said, adding that Iridium's agreement was not aimed at moving forward launch dates for the next two missions, but "about improving my whole launch cadence."

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/126126.jpg)
File photo of 10 Iridium Next satellites before encapsulation inside the Falcon 9 rocket's payload fairing. Each tier of the two-part dispenser holds five satellites. Credit: Iridium

In a statement announcing the decision, Iridium said it "conducted extensive due diligence work and is fully confident in the SpaceX booster refurbishment program."

Desch told Spaceflight Now that three successful re-flights of Falcon 9 first stage boosters this year gave Iridium, and the insurance community, confidence in the rocket's ability to fly more than once.

"Our technical teams really dug into it, it was clear that SpaceX has been designing for reusability all along," Desch said. "They have a lot of engineering data and work, that by the time we got through all that due diligence, we felt that the risks were no higher, and maybe lower, in using a flight-proven booster.

"The most important thing there is we went out to our insurance carriers, and they agreed," he said. "They said there would be no changes to our premium as a result of this."

SpaceX has flown three reused first stages on Falcon 9 flights this year, beginning March 30 with the SES 10 communications satellite. Another previously-flown booster launched the BulgariaSat 1 broadcast satellite toward orbit June 23, and another communications payload for SES and EchoStar rode a reused first stage to space Oct. 11.

Desch said Iridium has not confirmed which boosters in SpaceX's inventory of recovered rockets will fly Dec. 22, or on the following Iridium Next mission in the first quarter of 2018.

"There was a cost reduction," Desch said. "But I think we got the fairly standard cost reduction they're offering, and that was acceptable to me because the value was (the same) or better, overall."

He declined to identify the exact discount SpaceX offered.

"Regardless, (cost) was my lowest driver," Desch said. "That, to me, meant nothing if the other two weren't met."

In the long run, SpaceX aims for more significant cost reductions as the company cuts the time it needs to recover and refurbish a Falcon 9 first stage for a re-flight. The second stage remains expendable.

"Anybody who says they need a significant cost reduction, or is starting to throw out numbers, I believe that means that they don't believe that the risk profile is the same," Desch said. "The value is getting your payload successfully into the orbit that you need, and to me, I don't know that it's a requirement to get a discount at all for that. I think, long-term, there isn't going to be a discount for it."

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/127031.jpg)
File photo of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket rolling out to Space Launch Complex 4-East at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California. Credit: SpaceX

But schedule concerns, and potentially a lower risk profile, could draw customers to SpaceX's stable of reused rockets, even without a major cost reduction from SpaceX's current prices, which undercut competitors, Desch said, echoing several other satellite industry officials who have sought or booked launches on previously-flown Falcon 9 boosters.

"I say it's been tested," he said. "Our analysis believes it is proven technology, and what reduction we're getting is because that's what's being offered right now. I'm really getting all the value I contracted for before. I don't get to keep the rocket after it's over. I get no memento from having paid for it, so I'm just paying for the service, and as long as I get my service, I'm pretty happy with what the price should be.

"I thought I had a pretty good deal to begin with, and maybe some people are still thinking about it compared to other rockets they use, but I believe that the Falcon 9 is a good value right now, and a flight-proven (vehicle) maybe is a little bit better, but (cost) is not really what drives us."

The $492 million contract signed by SpaceX and Iridium in 2010 covered seven launches, plus the design and construction of special dispensers to deploy the satellites once in orbit. Iridium since added another launch, a rideshare flight with five Iridium payloads and two U.S.-German GRACE-Follow On gravity measurement satellites.

Desch said Iridium will consider flying on reused boosters on missions next year, but likely not the rideshare mission with the GRACE satellites, which is expected to be the sixth flight in Iridium's launch sequence in the spring of 2018, using SpaceX's new Block 5 vehicle, an upgraded Falcon 9 configuration.

The current version of the Falcon 9 rocket must land its first stage on SpaceX's ocean-going drone ships after launching with heavy payloads — such as 10 Iridium satellites in one go — or missions bound for high-altitude orbits. Among other benefits, the Block 5 will allow more Falcon 9 boosters to return to land on a concrete pad near launch sites in Florida and California.

SpaceX has not conducted a rocket landing at Vandenberg Air Force Base following a West Coast launch, but is expected to debut that capability early next year after the completion of environmental reviews. Unlike SpaceX's landing target at Cape Canaveral, which is several miles from Falcon 9 launch pads, the company's landing site at Vandenberg is adjacent to the liftoff point at a former Titan 2 launch pad.

Desch said the first Falcon 9 landing at the California base is not expected to be on an Iridium flight.

"I checked around and found out that it is not us, and SpaceX has never talked to us about that," he said.

SpaceX has several launches from Vandenberg for customers other than Iridium next year, beginning with a mission targeted for liftoff no earlier than Jan. 30 with the Spanish Paz Earth observation satellite.

The next two Falcon 9 missions from Florida's Space Coast, set for Oct. 30 and mid-November, will utilize factory-fresh boosters. A NASA spokesperson told Spaceflight Now last week he could not confirm if the  booster for SpaceX's next space station supply launch in early December will be new or previously-flown.
[свернуть]
Название: Iridium NEXT.
Отправлено: tnt22 от 28.10.2017 20:32:32
Цитировать (https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/186040.jpg) Chris B - NSF‏ @NASASpaceflight (https://twitter.com/NASASpaceflight) 38 мин. назад (https://twitter.com/NASASpaceflight/status/924317276169494534)

FEATURE ARTICLE: Iridium satellite communication aids Caribbean/Puerto Rico recovery efforts - https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2017/10/iridium-satellite-aids-caribbeanpuerto-rico-recovery/ ... (https://t.co/0bhFhFg6PT) By Chris Gebhardt @CwG_NSF (https://twitter.com/CwG_NSF) interviewing Iridium CEO Matt Desch @IridiumBoss (https://twitter.com/IridiumBoss) about some of the critical lifesaving work satellites do for humanity.
(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/170193.jpg)
Спойлер
(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/170195.jpg)
(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/170192.jpg)
(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/170196.jpg)
[свернуть]
Цитировать
Iridium satellite communication aids Caribbean/Puerto Rico recovery efforts (https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2017/10/iridium-satellite-aids-caribbeanpuerto-rico-recovery/)
Название: Iridium NEXT.
Отправлено: tnt22 от 07.11.2017 21:59:14
Цитировать (https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/67496.jpg) Matt Desch‏ @IridiumBoss (https://twitter.com/IridiumBoss) 26 мин. назад (https://twitter.com/IridiumBoss/status/927965718762676224)

Launch 3 SV change-outs continue to go well. Today's replacement of SV5 and SV6 mean no SVs from 1st launch 20 yrs ago in network anymore!

27 мин. назад (https://twitter.com/IridiumBoss/status/927966254018846720)

Oldest SVs in network now from 2nd launch on 6/18/97 (10,12,13). Our network is getting newer every day!
Название: Iridium NEXT.
Отправлено: tnt22 от 10.11.2017 17:36:23
Цитировать (https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/67496.jpg) Matt Desch‏ @IridiumBoss (https://twitter.com/IridiumBoss) 36 мин назад (https://twitter.com/IridiumBoss/status/928985199114903552)

Launch 3 sat activities progressing well on schedule. By tomorrow, 6 of 10 will be carrying traffic; all 10 by next weekend. SV8 and SV51 deboosted with 4 more by YE. #IridiumNEXT (https://twitter.com/hashtag/IridiumNEXT?src=hash)
(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/170878.jpg)
Название: Iridium NEXT.
Отправлено: tnt22 от 08.12.2017 23:06:59
ЦитироватьIridium to Use Flight-Proven Rockets

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/220762.jpg) (https://www.youtube.com/user/IridiumComm) IridiumComm (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZ6-3U3gUwQHvQ1jyj4dOpQ)

Опубликовано: 1 дек. 2017 г.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v9ZXu4JYZg8https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v9ZXu4JYZg8 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v9ZXu4JYZg8) (2:06)
Название: Iridium NEXT.
Отправлено: tnt22 от 08.12.2017 23:11:38
ЦитироватьThe Next Level of Connectivity

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/220762.jpg) (https://www.youtube.com/user/IridiumComm) IridiumComm (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZ6-3U3gUwQHvQ1jyj4dOpQ)

Опубликовано: 1 дек. 2017 г.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vrsdDM7wmVEhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vrsdDM7wmVE (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vrsdDM7wmVE) (1:04)
Название: Iridium NEXT.
Отправлено: tnt22 от 08.12.2017 23:17:04
ЦитироватьWhat Makes an Iridium NEXT Satellite so Unique?

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/220762.jpg) (https://www.youtube.com/user/IridiumComm) IridiumComm (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZ6-3U3gUwQHvQ1jyj4dOpQ)

Опубликовано: 1 дек. 2017 г.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CGYnP4ao9Gohttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CGYnP4ao9Go (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CGYnP4ao9Go) (0:54)
Название: Iridium NEXT.
Отправлено: tnt22 от 12.12.2017 19:16:39
Цитировать (https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/67496.jpg) Matt Desch‏ @IridiumBoss (https://twitter.com/IridiumBoss) 1 ч. назад (https://twitter.com/IridiumBoss/status/940595205371318273)

Our rideshare partner for Iridium-6. Great working relationship; we're looking forward to flying together.
Цитировать (https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/185988.jpg) Peter B. de Selding‏ @pbdes (https://twitter.com/pbdes) 6 ч. назад (https://twitter.com/pbdes/status/940528070938808321)

US/German GRACE-FO gravity-research sats leave @AirbusSpace (https://twitter.com/AirbusSpace) Germany for Calif. for spring launch to LEO on @SpaceX (https://twitter.com/SpaceX) w/ 5 @IridiumComm (https://twitter.com/IridiumComm) mobile-comms sats.http://bit.ly/2BdPY97  (https://t.co/YQiwZ1HI8a)
(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/171482.jpg)
Прим. По всей видимости, имеется ввиду последний, 8-й, пакетный запуск Иридиумов
Название: Iridium NEXT.
Отправлено: tnt22 от 20.12.2017 18:02:58
ЦитироватьIridium Certus - Expanding Possibilities

 (https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/220762.jpg)  (https://www.youtube.com/user/IridiumComm) IridiumComm (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZ6-3U3gUwQHvQ1jyj4dOpQ)

Опубликовано: 19 дек. 2017 г.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C8ZXzOhqltohttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C8ZXzOhqlto (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C8ZXzOhqlto) (0:57)
Название: Iridium NEXT.
Отправлено: tnt22 от 30.12.2017 01:28:24
ЦитироватьIridium NEXT Payloads: Enabling Unique Applications for Safety & Efficiency

 (https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/220762.jpg)  (https://www.youtube.com/user/IridiumComm) IridiumComm (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZ6-3U3gUwQHvQ1jyj4dOpQ)

Опубликовано: 22 дек. 2017 г.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RX03N6bwN3shttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RX03N6bwN3s (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RX03N6bwN3s) (3:16)
Название: Iridium NEXT.
Отправлено: tnt22 от 09.01.2018 05:58:31
Цитировать (https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/67496.jpg) Matt Desch‏ @IridiumBoss (https://twitter.com/IridiumBoss) 8 ч. назад (https://twitter.com/IridiumBoss/status/950440422127489024)

Will report next Iridium launch date soon. I CAN report that Iridium 5 will be directed to our orbital Plane #1 - all 10 will go into service there. It will also be a morning launch - probably a little before 8am local...
(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/172686.jpg)
Название: Iridium NEXT.
Отправлено: Apollo13 от 22.01.2018 18:36:07
ЦитироватьJeff Foust‏ @jeff_foust (https://twitter.com/jeff_foust) 3h3 hours ago (https://twitter.com/jeff_foust/status/955425997230354432)

Iridium says its fifth launch of 10 Iridium Next satellites on a Falcon 9 is scheduled for March 18, using the first stage that launched the third batch of Iridium satellites in October.

ЦитироватьJeff Foust‏ @jeff_foust (https://twitter.com/jeff_foust) 3h3 hours ago (https://twitter.com/jeff_foust/status/955426223731150848)

That will be followed by a mid-to-late April launch of 5 Iridium satellites, along with the NASA/German GRACE Follow-On satellites. Iridium says it plans to have all its satellites launched by mid-2018.

Название: Iridium NEXT.
Отправлено: Salo от 31.01.2018 22:49:58
The Making of the Largest Satellite Constellation in History
How Iridium rose from its ashes to launch the era of satellite megaprojects.
https://motherboard.vice.com/en_us/article/d34bmk/iridium-next-satellite-constellation-spacex-desch
Название: Iridium NEXT.
Отправлено: tnt22 от 14.02.2018 22:24:11
Цитировать(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/29262.jpg)Jeff Foust‏ @jeff_foust (https://twitter.com/jeff_foust) 12m ago (https://twitter.com/jeff_foust/status/963852983514615808)

Peter Dorcas, exactEarth: AIS payloads hosted on Iridium Next satellites will provide persistent coverage of the globe in real time. 32 of 60 payloads already launched. #CDSmallSat18 (https://twitter.com/hashtag/CDSmallSat18?src=hash)
Название: Iridium NEXT.
Отправлено: tnt22 от 22.02.2018 19:32:35
Цитировать(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/67521.jpg)Stephen Clark‏ @StephenClark1 (https://twitter.com/StephenClark1) 21 мин. назад (https://twitter.com/StephenClark1/status/966706862195400709)

Iridium now says their next launch has bumped back to March 29, after the Paz mission slipped.
Название: Iridium NEXT.
Отправлено: tnt22 от 05.03.2018 23:55:21
Цитировать(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/67496.jpg)Matt Desch‏ @IridiumBoss (https://twitter.com/IridiumBoss) 11 мин. назад (https://twitter.com/IridiumBoss/status/970761177922981888)

Iridium network update: our first 2 drifters from Launch 1 (105 & 108 ) were activated today, bringing the total to 34 Iridium NEXT sats now in operation (over 50% of 66 in constellation!). 3 more drifters also planned to be in service before next launch on March 29. Onward!(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/174245.jpg)
Название: Iridium NEXT.
Отправлено: tnt22 от 07.03.2018 16:10:04
Цитировать(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/67496.jpg)Matt Desch‏ @IridiumBoss (https://twitter.com/IridiumBoss) 16 мин. назад (https://twitter.com/IridiumBoss/status/971367870998466560)

FCC just approved our new Iridium Certus devices, gating for commercial launch. "(it) will serve the public interest, convenience, and necessity by enabling the deployment of a new generation of user terminals with the Iridium second-generation satellite system." Thank you, FCC!
(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/174307.jpg)
Название: Iridium NEXT.
Отправлено: Pirat5 от 10.03.2018 18:30:13
.
Название: Iridium NEXT.
Отправлено: tnt22 от 23.03.2018 01:40:22
Цитировать(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/67496.jpg)Matt Desch‏ @IridiumBoss (https://twitter.com/IridiumBoss) 34 мин. назад (https://twitter.com/IridiumBoss/status/976942866181296128)

So this is pretty cool. While we wait for our fifth launch a week from today, SV128, the first drifter to arrive from our second launch just replaced SV35 in plane 4. This makes plane 4 the first of our 6 planes to be completely filled with Iridium NEXT satellites! Go IRDM!
(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/174462.jpg)
Название: Iridium NEXT.
Отправлено: tnt22 от 24.03.2018 11:42:27
Цитировать(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/67496.jpg)Matt Desch‏ @IridiumBoss (https://twitter.com/IridiumBoss) 12 ч. назад (https://twitter.com/IridiumBoss/status/977287254241669120)

Another network milestone! Our 2nd plane was completed today with 2 drifters (SV120 & SV113) arriving from Launch 2, replacing SV47 and SV20 respectively. 2 out of 6 orbital planes now completely filled with Iridium NEXT satellites! We're cooking with gas (ok, hydrazine) now!
(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/174678.jpg)
Название: Iridium NEXT.
Отправлено: tnt22 от 30.03.2018 23:43:54
ЦитироватьIridium IoT: Are You Connected?

IridiumComm (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZ6-3U3gUwQHvQ1jyj4dOpQ)

Опубликовано: 30 мар. 2018 г.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N6lCTuTC_tchttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N6lCTuTC_tc (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N6lCTuTC_tc) (2:20)
Название: Iridium NEXT.
Отправлено: поц от 31.03.2018 18:54:20
Успешный пятый запуск приближает глобальную систему наблюдения за воздушным движением Aireon(SM) к полному развертыванию (https://www.newswire.ca/news-releases/successful-fifth-launch-brings-aireonsm-global-air-traffic-surveillance-system-closer-to-full-deployment-678402413.html)

ЦитироватьСистема Aireon расположена на спутнике Iridium NEXT, который будет состоять из 66 спутников с низкой околоземной орбитой. В общей сложности строится 81 спутник Iridium NEXT, все из которых будут иметь полезную нагрузку Aireon. В настоящее время планируется развернуть 75 спутников, девять из которых будут выступать в качестве запасных частей на орбите, а остальные шесть-в качестве наземных запасных частей. Строительство созвездия планируется завершить в 2018 году.
Название: Iridium NEXT.
Отправлено: Старый от 04.04.2018 04:50:49
 А пока на мой кривой глаз в первой плоскости такая картина:
 (https://forum.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/forum/file/81939)
Название: Iridium NEXT.
Отправлено: Старый от 04.04.2018 04:54:10
Показал все спутники с орбитой 776х779
Название: Iridium NEXT.
Отправлено: tnt22 от 21.04.2018 00:05:04
Цитировать(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/185770.png)Iridium Corporate‏Подлинная учетная запись @IridiumComm (https://twitter.com/IridiumComm) 2 ч. назад (https://twitter.com/IridiumComm/status/987402225101213697)

SNOC Report: The first 2 #IridiumNEXT (https://twitter.com/hashtag/IridiumNEXT?src=hash) satellites from #Iridium5 (https://twitter.com/hashtag/Iridium5?src=hash) have been activated and are carrying traffic, with the remaining eight planned for integration in the days ahead. All six orbital planes now have #Iridium (https://twitter.com/hashtag/Iridium?src=hash) NEXT SVs that are providing service! #FridayFeeling (https://twitter.com/hashtag/FridayFeeling?src=hash)
Название: Iridium NEXT.
Отправлено: tnt22 от 26.04.2018 11:06:05
Цитировать(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/67496.jpg)Matt Desch‏ @IridiumBoss (https://twitter.com/IridiumBoss) 7 ч. назад (https://twitter.com/IridiumBoss/status/989303403825319941)

If keeping score on our Iridium NEXT deployment, when we complete slot swaps from the 5th launch in about 2 wks, we'll have 47 NEXT vehicles in operation & only 19 Block 1. 80% of traffic will be through NEXT! 25 Block 1 vehicles now deboosted, (13 reentered so far) #flarewell (https://twitter.com/hashtag/flarewell?src=hash)
(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/163072.jpg)
Название: Iridium NEXT.
Отправлено: tnt22 от 07.05.2018 22:07:31
Цитировать(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/67496.jpg)Matt Desch‏ @IridiumBoss (https://twitter.com/IridiumBoss) 12 мин. назад (https://twitter.com/IridiumBoss/status/993564436337176581)

Two more satellite slot swaps today - SV150 took over for SV62, and SV148 took over for SV70. One more activation later this week and Launch #5 activities will be complete - just in time for Launch #6 on May 19th! #IridiumNEXT (https://twitter.com/hashtag/IridiumNEXT?src=hash) #greatprogress (https://twitter.com/hashtag/greatprogress?src=hash) #Ishouldusehashtagsmoreoften (https://twitter.com/hashtag/Ishouldusehashtagsmoreoften?src=hash)
(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/163532.jpg)
Название: Iridium NEXT.
Отправлено: tnt22 от 14.05.2018 17:24:55
Цитировать(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/67521.jpg)Stephen Clark‏ @StephenClark1 (https://twitter.com/StephenClark1) 3 мин. назад (https://twitter.com/StephenClark1/status/996031719932354561)

Iridium's Desch: Currently 47 Iridium Next satellites in service, and 19 first-generation Block 1 satellites in service. Three of the five Iridium Next satellites launching next week will go into service in Plane 6, other two will begin their lives as spares.
Название: Iridium NEXT.
Отправлено: tnt22 от 14.05.2018 17:44:18
Цитировать(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/29262.jpg)Jeff Foust‏ @jeff_foust (https://twitter.com/jeff_foust) 3 мин. назад (https://twitter.com/jeff_foust/status/996037287447355392)

Desch: after next week's launch, next Iridium Next launch will be in July, with final launch by the end of the third quarter.

3 мин. назад (https://twitter.com/jeff_foust/status/996037594537512960)

Desch: those final two launches will be on new Block 5 Falcon 9 vehicles. Next week's launch will used a previously-flown booster.
Название: Iridium NEXT.
Отправлено: tnt22 от 14.05.2018 17:54:57
Цитировать(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/29262.jpg)Jeff Foust‏ @jeff_foust (https://twitter.com/jeff_foust) 6 мин. назад (https://twitter.com/jeff_foust/status/996039467994673153)

Desch: should have all new Iridium Next satellites in place about 30 days after final launch. Plan to lower all older satellites into graveyard orbit perhaps by end of the year, but a few may take 20-25 years to come down.
Название: Iridium NEXT.
Отправлено: tnt22 от 15.05.2018 04:01:41
http://spacenews.com/iridium-to-complete-next-generation-satellite-deployment-by-this-fall/
ЦитироватьIridium to complete next-generation satellite deployment by this fall
by Jeff Foust (http://spacenews.com/author/jeff-foust/) — May 14, 2018

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/155612.jpg)
Iridium expects to have its constellation consist entirely of Iridium Next satellites shortly after the final launch, expected by the end of the third quarter of this year. Credit: Iridium

WASHINGTON — Iridium expects to have its next-generation satellite constellation deployed and in service by this fall as it looks to win approvals for new maritime and aviation applications.

In a conference call with reporters May 14, Iridium Chief Executive Matt Desch said the remaining three launches of Iridium Next satellites should be completed by the third quarter of this year, with the satellites in the final positions shortly thereafter.

"All of the satellites are going to be in place within probably about 30 days of our final launch," he said. The Iridium operations team has become more efficient in maneuvering new satellites into their planned orbital slots and putting them into service. "It will be very shortly after our final launch that we will have 100 percent Iridium Next satellites."
Спойлер
Iridium has launched 50 Iridium Next satellites to date on five SpaceX Falcon 9 launches dating back to January 2017. Of those satellites, Desch said 47 are in service while the other three are drifting to their planned orbital planes.

The next launch of Iridium satellites is now scheduled for May 21, two days later than previously announced, again on a Falcon 9 fr om California's Vandenberg Air Force Base. Desch said that "pretty minor processing issues and preparation of one of the components of the rocket" caused the slip, and that he didn't expect further delays.

Unlike the previous Iridium launches, which were dedicated flights of 10 satellites each, this mission will carry five Iridium Next satellites. The launch will be shared with GRACE-FO, an Earth science mission jointly developed by NASA and the German Research Centre for Geosciences.

On that launch, the Falcon 9 upper stage will deploy the two GRACE-FO satellites into one orbit, then relight to maneuver to a different orbit for the Iridium satellite deployment. Those satellites will be deployed into orbits not quite the same as those fr om earlier launches, but won't pose a major issue, Desch said.

"It might take just a few more maneuvers of our satellites to get to wh ere they have to get to than they're typically used to," he said. "But it's going to be very close to the orbit we want to be in.

With that launch, three of the six orbital planes will consist entirely of next-generation satellites. The others will be filled out by the final two launches, with the company returning to dedicated launches of 10 satellites each. One launch is scheduled for July, Desch said, with the other before the end of the third quarter.

Those final two launches will use new Block 5 versions of the Falcon 9, which made its debut with a successful launch of a Bangladeshi communications satellite May 11 (http://spacenews.com/spacex-launches-bangladeshi-satellite-on-debut-block-5-falcon-9-mission/). Next week's launch will use a Falcon 9 with a previously-flown first stage, as was the case with the prior two Iridium launches.

Desch said he had no problems using previously-flown Falcon 9 rockets, and that the switch to the Block 5 for the final two launches is due to a lack of availability of older reused boosters. "We were an early adopter and believe that launching on flight-proven rockets is as safe, if not safer, than launching on new rockets," he said.

In a May 10 call with reporters, SpaceX Chief Executive Elon Musk revealed that that SpaceX was offering a discounted price for Falcon 9 launches with previously-flown boosters (http://spacenews.com/spacex-targeting-24-hour-turnaround-in-2019-full-reusability-still-in-the-works/): $50 million, versus a list price of $62 million. Desch confirmed that Iridium received a "modest discount" for using reused boosters, but that was not a major factor for the company.

"It's been more about the schedule certainty of being able to use flight-proven [boosters], knowing that we could keep our 18-month to 24-month launch schedule," he said. "That was the biggest reason."

"SpaceX is by far the lowest-cost launch provider today," he added. "I am not demanding much more of a reduction than what we have today, because I believe I'm getting a product — I'm getting a service, really — of high value, higher than I can get from any other supplier."

Seeking new business

Desch also used the call to provide an update on the company's efforts to win new business for the Iridium satellite system. While the company now has more than one million subscribers, with year-over-year growth of nearly 12 percent in the first quarter, the company is seeking to enter new business areas, including maritime communications and aircraft tracking.

The company is currently seeking certification from the International Maritime Organization to provide Global Maritime Distress and Safety System (GMDSS) services from its satellites. If approved, Iridium would be the second satellite communications company, after Inmarsat, to have GMDSS certification.

"We expect to continue make progress in what has been a several-years-old approval process," he said. "The addition of Iridium as a GMDSS provider will bring choice and competition, ending a decades-long monopoly and bring truly global coverage and greater capabilities in a cost-effective way."

Progress on winning that certification is going well, and he expected to win approval and start offering the service by early 2020. "This is really a matter of when, not if," he said.

Another area he cited was efforts by Aireon, whose aircraft-tracking payloads are included on the Iridium Next satellites, to win business. Aireon plans to make an announcement May 16 in cooperation with NATS, the public-private partnership that provides air traffic management services in the United Kingdom. Desch declined to details of any agreement between Aireon and NATS, citing the upcoming announcement.

Aireon is also undergoing an assessment by the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration. Desch was optimistic that the FAA ultimately would become a customer and expected that evaluation process within the FAA to wrap up later this year.

Deorbiting

As Iridium completes the deployment of its next-generation satellite constellation, it's deorbiting the older satellites. Desch said that 25 of its "Block 1" satellites have undergone a deorbiting process wh ere the satellites are moved into lower graveyard orbits. Fifteen of those satellites have reentered and, shortly after the briefing, the company announced the reentry of two more of the older satellites.

Desch used that to raise concerns about orbital debris risks posed by the growing number of cubesats and "megaconstellations" of satellites. "When companies plan to launch hundreds, if not thousands, of small satellites, we're concerned that these new operators may be incentivized to cut corners and take risks to speed up their deployment and lower their costs," he said.

Of particular worry to him was the complete failure of individual satellites, which would prevent them from being deorbited or from maneuvering in the event of a potential collision with another satellite or debris. "If a significant number of their satellites fail, their satellites could be dangerously spaced for hundreds of years, becoming targets for other debris," he said.

Iridium has first-hand experience of this threat from the 2009 collision of the Iridium 33 satellite with the defunct Russian satellite Cosmos 2251. The company has changed its operations since that event, working more closely with the U.S. Air Force to get updated information about satellites that could pose a collision risk, making a judgement about a day out from a potential collision on whether to maneuver. Desch said that the company is averaging about one collision avoidance maneuver a week among its entire satellite constellation.

With the Iridium Next satellites in place late this year, Desch said it's "very possible" that all of its remaining Block 1 satellites could be maneuvered to graveyard orbits by the end of the year. Most of those would reenter in about a year, although as many as four to six could take 20–25 years to reenter.

For each of the deorbited Block 1 satellites, Desch said that the company holds a ceremony. "We try to honor them in their retirement," he said. "We try to picture them feeding birds on a park bench or doing something else for their retirement."
[свернуть]
Название: Iridium NEXT.
Отправлено: Pirat5 от 16.05.2018 21:14:28
Irridium-статус (http://www.rod.sladen.org.uk/iridium.htm)
(https://forum.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/forum/file/83661)
Название: Iridium NEXT.
Отправлено: tnt22 от 29.05.2018 21:22:03
Цитировать(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/67496.jpg)Matt Desch‏ @IridiumBoss (https://twitter.com/IridiumBoss) 11 мин. назад (https://twitter.com/IridiumBoss/status/1001525880139714566)

For Iridium NEXT followers, our five Launch 6 satellites are all performing very well. The first 2 (SV110 and SV147) will go into service in two weeks, and the 3rd (SV152) will go into service about 5 days later, completing plane 6 (and 3 full planes!). Other 2: in-orbit spares
Название: Iridium NEXT.
Отправлено: tnt22 от 21.06.2018 23:34:23
Цитировать(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/184841.jpg)Iridium Corporate‏Подлинная учетная запись @IridiumComm (https://twitter.com/IridiumComm) 55 мин. назад (https://twitter.com/IridiumComm/status/1009883045963411456)

#IridiumNEXT (https://twitter.com/hashtag/IridiumNEXT?src=hash) Update: We're excited to share that 50 Iridium NEXT satellites are now actively providing service. In total, 75 are being launched w/ 9 serving as on-orbit spares. 16 more new SVs are needed to finish this historic upgrade of the original 66 satellite constellation!

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/165651.jpg)
Название: Iridium NEXT.
Отправлено: tnt22 от 25.07.2018 19:11:18
http://investor.iridium.com/news-releases/news-release-details/iridium-completes-seventh-successful-iridiumr-next-launch
ЦитироватьJuly 25, 2018 at 9:11 AM EDT

Iridium Completes Seventh Successful Iridium® NEXT Launch

One launch remains for Iridium to finish its historic constellation refresh
MCLEAN, Va., July 25, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Iridium Communications Inc. (NASDAQ: IRDM) announced today that at 04:39:30 am PDT (11:39:30 UTC) a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket successfully launched 10 Iridium NEXT satellites to low earth orbit (LEO). Lifting off fr om Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, this was the seventh of eight launches planned for the Iridium NEXT constellation, replacing the company's existing 66 satellite network. Only one more launch of 10 satellites remains until the Iridium NEXT network is completed, ushering in a new era of capabilities, like the Iridium CertusSM broadband service and AireonSM real-time aircraft surveillance system.
Спойлер
(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/150106.jpg)

Completion of Iridium NEXT will spark both a technological and financial transformation for the company, while providing its partner ecosystem with an unrivaled industry platform for innovation. The Iridium partner ecosystem, consisting of hundreds of companies, plays an invaluable role in the creation, distribution and servicing of Iridium equipment, airtime and applications. Among the new services, Iridium Certus will provide the fastest L-band broadband service globally, turbocharging Iridium satellite connectivity using smaller and more cost-effective terminals. Five industry-leading companies have been sel ected by Iridium as Value Added Manufacturers for Iridium Certus, including Thales, Cobham, Rockwell Collins, L3 Communications and most recently, Gogo. This group of companies has been joined by more than twenty Iridium Certus service providers who will be providing the service for maritime, aviation, Internet of Things, land-mobile and government-related industries.

"This historic constellation refresh is one launch away fr om completion," said Matt Desch, chief executive officer at Iridium. "We know our partners are just as excited about the new network being finished as we are, and how that will bring the full power of the Iridium NEXT constellation to life. We've come a long way, and we are particularly excited to see the financial transformation enabled by the completion of the Iridium NEXT system and the associated drop in capital expenditures."

The 10 Iridium NEXT satellites launched as part of the seventh mission were delivered to orbital plane number five, wh ere they will go in to operation immediately following testing and validation. The Iridium network is comprised of six polar orbiting planes, each containing 11 crosslinked satellites for a total of 66 in the operational constellation. Upon activation of all 10 new satellites, orbital plane five will become the fourth Iridium orbital plane to be comprised exclusively of Iridium NEXT satellites. In total, 81 satellites are being built with 75 planned for launch. Nine of the satellites launched will serve as on-orbit spares, and the remaining six will be ground spares.
...
[свернуть]
Название: Iridium NEXT.
Отправлено: tnt22 от 26.07.2018 02:17:41
https://www.thalesgroup.com/en/worldwide/space/press-release/iridium-next-constellation-66-operational-satellites-will-make
Цитировать
IRIDIUM NEXT: A CONSTELLATION OF 66 OPERATIONAL SATELLITES THAT WILL MAKE HISTORY
07/25/2018

65 communication satellites in orbit for the Iridium NEXT Constellation
Successful 7th launch of 10 new Iridium NEXT satellites!

Cannes, July 25th, 2018 - The seventh batch of Iridium NEXT satellites built by Thales Alenia Space (JV Thales 67% and Leonardo 33%) has been successfully launched by SpaceX from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. The success of this seventh launch for the Iridium NEXT program further solidifies the company's reputation for excelled expertise as prime contractor for sophisticated satellite communications (SATCOM) systems.
Спойлер
Цитировать"Iridium is replacing its existing constellation of 66 low Earth orbit (LEO) satellites by sending 75 Iridium NEXT satellites into space, including spares. 65 Iridium NEXT satellites are now in orbit. Overall System Acceptance has been confirmed by Iridium. The last launch of 10 Iridium NEXT satellites is nearing now. I am very pleased to confirm that everything is on track to meet Thales Alenia Space's objective, namely to launch all 75 Iridium NEXT LEO satellites in 2018," declared Denis Allard, Iridium NEXT Vice President for Thales Alenia Space.
Thales Alenia Space, the system prime contractor for the Iridium NEXT program, is in charge of engineering, integration, and in-orbit validation of all 81 Iridium NEXT satellites, comprising 66 operational satellites, the remaining 15 satellites will serve as in-orbit and ground spares. The satellites are manufactured in a production line process by Thales Alenia Space's subcontractor Northrop Grumman Corporation (formerly known as Orbital ATK), at its Satellite Manufacturing Facility in Gilbert, Ariz. under the supervision of a dedicated local Thales Alenia Space and Iridium team. Launch and Early Operations (LEOP) and In Orbit Tests are performed by Thales Alenia Space in coordination with Iridium, from Iridium's Satellite Network Operation Center (SNOC) in Leesburg, Va.

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/218950.jpg)

Each Iridium NEXT satellite is equipped with star tracker sensors provided by Leonardo to guarantee attitude determination and control.

The Iridium NEXT constellation will offer global connectivity thanks to 66 interconnected satellites at an altitude of 780 km, along with nine spares in parking orbits and six more spare satellites on the ground. This global network provides unrivaled capabilities for communications on the move (individuals, land vehicles, aircraft and ships), and ensures fully global coverage, including the poles and over the ocean.

Thanks to its global coverage and independent operation, not requiring any ground infrastructure, Iridium's network provides vital assistance under very challenging conditions, such as in isolated areas, during natural disasters or during conflicts, to name a few. Its independence from local ground infrastructure delivers secure communications, including protection against intrusion and hacking.

Copyrights: © Thales Alenia Space/Master Image Programmes
[свернуть]
Название: Iridium NEXT.
Отправлено: tnt22 от 27.07.2018 11:10:03
ЦитироватьDriving Innovation Through the Iridium Partner Ecosystem

IridiumComm (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZ6-3U3gUwQHvQ1jyj4dOpQ)

Опубликовано: 26 июл. 2018 г.

Why are we building the new $3 billion Iridium NEXT network?

To supercharge the innovative solutions that our partners are producing everyday, everywhere around the world. The Iridium partner ecosystem, consisting of hundreds of companies, plays an invaluable role in the creation, distribution and servicing of Iridium equipment, airtime and applications.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s5ZoZDnZtkwhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s5ZoZDnZtkw (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s5ZoZDnZtkw) (2:59)
Название: Iridium NEXT.
Отправлено: tnt22 от 01.08.2018 04:52:23
Цитировать(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/67496.jpg)Matt Desch‏ @IridiumBoss (https://twitter.com/IridiumBoss) 8 ч. назад (https://twitter.com/IridiumBoss/status/1024354089583431680)

L-7 operations update: SV155 & 158 have completed ascents to 700km storage orbit from 625km insertion orbit. 156 finishes tonight, and 159,160,163 & 165 are on their way up. Payload screening continues on many. Primary links will start activating on Thursday. All looking good!

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/167009.jpg)
Название: Iridium NEXT.
Отправлено: tnt22 от 13.08.2018 21:21:19
ЦитироватьIridium NEXT Seventh Launch Highlights

IridiumComm (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZ6-3U3gUwQHvQ1jyj4dOpQ)

Опубликовано: 9 авг. 2018 г.

On July 25, 2018, Iridium successfully launched 10 more Iridium NEXT satellites into orbit from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. Shortly after deployment, Iridium confirmed successful communication with all 10 new satellites, formally bringing the total number of Iridium NEXT satellites in orbit to 65. This leaves just one more launch to complete this ambitious launch program. Here are some of the highlights and memorable moments of this exciting day.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bJWBqiazcaEhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bJWBqiazcaE (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bJWBqiazcaE) (2:29)
Название: Iridium NEXT.
Отправлено: tnt22 от 01.09.2018 00:20:07
Цитировать(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/67496.jpg)Matt Desch‏ @IridiumBoss (https://twitter.com/IridiumBoss) 2 ч. назад (https://twitter.com/IridiumBoss/status/1035609461405241349)

Launch 7 satellite activities complete: 59 of 66 satellites in our constellation are now Iridium NEXT vehicles - 89.4% complete! 4 of 6 planes are all NEXT, with the 5th plane complete in a few weeks when SV153 drifts into position. Launch 8 is NET November now - can't wait!

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/168477.jpg)
Название: Iridium NEXT.
Отправлено: tnt22 от 04.09.2018 21:14:41
Цитировать(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/186040.jpg)Chris B - NSF‏ @NASASpaceflight (https://twitter.com/NASASpaceflight) 7 мин. назад (https://twitter.com/NASASpaceflight/status/1037038367840641026)

FEATURE ARTICLE:

Iridium CEO reflects on past and future use of its satellite constellation -

https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2018/09/iridium-ceo-past-future-satellite-constellation/ ... (https://t.co/RVXTf9vYfJ)

- By Chris Gebhardt (@ChrisG_NSF (https://twitter.com/ChrisG_NSF))
- Photo of @IridiumBoss (https://twitter.com/IridiumBoss) by @jdeshetler (https://twitter.com/jdeshetler) for NSF.

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/169279.jpg)
Название: Iridium NEXT.
Отправлено: tnt22 от 11.09.2018 05:48:09
ЦитироватьIridium NEXT: the most sophiticated communications system ever

Thales (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCBUSZK1OyuyHpZnGilUzj9g)

Опубликовано: 10 сент. 2018 г.

Iridium NEXT is the world's highest performance and most sophisticated telecommunications constellation in orbit ever. This video was broadcast for the first time during the 2018 World Satellite Business week.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lm6Zem9h-cEhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lm6Zem9h-cE (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lm6Zem9h-cE) (2:18 )
Название: Iridium NEXT.
Отправлено: tnt22 от 11.09.2018 06:09:41
https://www.thalesgroup.com/en/worldwide/space/press-release/iridium-next-setting-standard-constellations
Цитировать
IRIDIUM NEXT – SETTING THE STANDARD IN CONSTELLATIONS
09/10/2018

A complete and complex end-to-end and turnkey telecommunication system
Paris, September 10, 2018 – In the frame of the World Satellite Business Week in Paris, Jean Loïc Galle, CEO of Thales Alenia Space (joint venture between Thales 67% and Leonardo 33%) and Matt Desch, CEO of Iridium, have presented to the press the Iridium® NEXT stakes and challenges. This telecommunication constellation based on 81 satellites is now the world's highest performance and most sophisticated constellation, 65 satellites have already been deployed in 7 launches.

The challenge for Thales Alenia Space was not only to deliver in orbit a large series of satellites, but above all to commission a complete and complex turnkey system, while also ensuring the compatibility between the first and next generation of Iridium satellites. It's the first time that an operator and a manufacturer have worked hand in hand to replace a full constellation of 66 satellites, one by one, without interrupting user service.
Спойлер
(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/218950.jpg)

The Iridium® NEXT constellation is now virtually complete and it's up and running. It represents today's state of the art in terms of technology and flexibility. These latest-generation technologies embarked are the key to total flexibility for users, since we offer both global coverage and independence from any user ground segment. This independence will guarantee communications at any time, even during natural disasters and means that the constellation can provide secure communications, including protection against intrusion and piracy.
Цитировать« To deliver such a very large and complex constellation, comprising satellites weighing some 850 kilos at launch, we had to rethink how to manage our supply chain and our own industrial processes in addition to achieve impressive technological challenges", declared Jean Loïc Galle, CEO of Thales Alenia Space. "Iridium NEXT is today the highest performance and most sophisticated constellation ever built and we are proud for having risen this challenge allowing us to offer a world class expertise to the market".
Цитировать"The Iridium network is unique in many ways, and the requirements to replace the network were more complex and challenging than perhaps anything in space, other than the creation of the system 20 years ago," said Matt Desch, CEO of Iridium. "Thales Alenia Space took this challenge head-on, and today we've nearly replaced the entire network with state-of-the-art satellites that allow us to bring a new generation of technology, like our Iridium CertusSM broadband service, to our more than 1 million customers around the world."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lm6Zem9h-cE (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lm6Zem9h-cE)

Technical details

Slot swap
Satellite Low Earth Orbit Operation and in-orbit testing are handled by Thales Alenia Space teams from the Iridium satellite control center in Leesburg, Virginia, near Washington, D.C. The satellites are launched in clusters of 10, and due to the low Earth orbit, only 10 minutes per orbit are available to send up commands from ground stations. This means that the teams have to prepare meticulously and pay attention every second so they can maximize the operations performed during those 10 critical minutes. The satellites are then placed into the correct orbital position, one by one, before control is transferred to Iridium for the slot swap operation. Iridium teams handle these tasks with support from Thales Alenia Space, based on procedures that Thales Alenia Space already defined and validated. Each Iridium NEXT satellite is equipped with star tracker sensors provided by Leonardo to guarantee attitude determination and control.

Routing communications signals in orbit
Each satellite is connected to the four closest satellites in the system, in front, behind, to the right and left, making the service totally independent from any ground-based network. This in-orbit routing function is completely software driven, based on an onboard processor and a platform computer, along with their software. This software is the most complex used on a constellation of satellites to date. It can be uploaded from the ground, which means that updates can be made if necessary, as well as deploying higher-performance versions so that Iridium can expand its service offering to customers.

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/218951.jpg)

Read Thales Alenia Space CEO's publication on that topic: click here (https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/iridium-next-outstanding-new-telecom-constellation-jean-loic-galle/?published=t)

Photos & video: © Thales Alenia Space/Master Image Programmes
[свернуть]
Название: Iridium NEXT.
Отправлено: tnt22 от 06.12.2018 00:04:44
Цитировать(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/29925.jpg)Michael Baylor‏ @nextspaceflight (https://twitter.com/nextspaceflight) 12:37 (https://twitter.com/nextspaceflight/status/1070416863656599559) - 5 дек. 2018 г.

Iridium-8 has slipped to 2019 according to Koenigsmann.
Название: Iridium NEXT.
Отправлено: tnt22 от 18.01.2019 21:05:41
Цитировать(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/186040.jpg)Chris B - NSF‏ @NASASpaceflight (https://twitter.com/NASASpaceflight) 20 мин. назад (https://twitter.com/NASASpaceflight/status/1086318675265835008)

FEATURE ARTICLE:
Exploring what's next for Iridium after final NEXT constellation launch -

https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2019/01/exploring-next-iridium-final-launch/ ... (https://t.co/eO5wInqbTX)

- By Chris Gebhardt (@ChrisG_NSF (https://twitter.com/ChrisG_NSF)) via an interview with Matt Desch (@IridiumBoss (https://twitter.com/IridiumBoss))
Название: Iridium NEXT.
Отправлено: tnt22 от 09.02.2019 20:56:25
http://investor.iridium.com/2019-02-06-Iridium-Declares-Victory-3-Billion-Satellite-Constellation-Upgrade-Complete
ЦитироватьIridium Declares Victory; $3 Billion Satellite Constellation Upgrade Complete
Company Introduces New Small Form-Factor Transceiver Set to Transform Remote IoT Capabilities, Globally

MCLEAN, Va., Feb. 6, 2019 /PRNewswire (http://www.prnewswire.com/)/ -- Iridium Communications Inc. (NASDAQ: IRDM) today hailed the completion of its $3 billion satellite constellation upgrade campaign known as Iridium® NEXT, during a press conference held at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. During the press conference, the company also used the opportunity to introduce a new small-form-factor transceiver known as the Iridium CertusSM 9770, which will enable creation of new consumer and industrial applications that are highly portable and IoT-friendly, optimized for small size and low cost, yet with higher speeds than in the past thanks to the upgraded Iridium satellite network.

The completion of the Iridium NEXT campaign comes as the final two satellites required to complete the network refresh were activated on February 5th at approximately 2:15 p.m. EST. With a fully operational constellation, featuring 66 new Iridium satellites and no further launches planned, Iridium has concluded its nearly decade-long capital-intensive program that created an upgraded network both in space and on the ground. After spending several hundred million dollars per year to build and deploy the new network, Iridium expects capital costs to decrease to approximately $35 million per year, with revenues continuing to grow as the company expands into newer revenue streams like broadband, IoT and hosted payloads.

https://prnewswire2-a.akamaihd.net/p/1893751/sp/189375100/serveFlavor/entryId/1_m6b5hubc/flavorId/1_qoayc0dv/prn_folder/MNR/prn_id/Republish+Order+Part%3a+35368201+file+identifier%3a+1625872/prn_flavor/HD_MP4/prn_filename/761-Iridium-Press-Conference-Web-Ready-1.mp4 (https://prnewswire2-a.akamaihd.net/p/1893751/sp/189375100/serveFlavor/entryId/1_m6b5hubc/flavorId/1_qoayc0dv/prn_folder/MNR/prn_id/Republish+Order+Part%3a+35368201+file+identifier%3a+1625872/prn_flavor/HD_MP4/prn_filename/761-Iridium-Press-Conference-Web-Ready-1.mp4)

"The completion of the Iridium NEXT program signifies a new chapter in the Iridium story, one that sees us transforming from a big cash spender to a big cash generator," said Iridium CEO Matt Desch. "This is the realization of a long, successful climb, and reaching the peak, it's gratifying to know the future of the company is secure, and we have now financially matured as a satellite operator. Huge thanks are in order to our entire team, particularly our friends at SpaceX and our prime satellite manufacturer Thales Alenia Space and their teams."
Спойлер
First announced in 2010, the Iridium NEXT campaign featured eight launches with SpaceX. In total, 81 satellites were built by prime contractor Thales Alenia Space, of which 75 were launched, with 66 in the operational constellation and nine serving as on-orbit spares. Thales Alenia Space was responsible for design and integration of the new satellites, including launch and early operations testing in partnership with Iridium's team at the company's Satellite Network Operations Center in Virginia.

The upgraded Iridium constellation enables never before possible services such as the AireonSM global aircraft tracking and surveillance system and Iridium Certus, the company's new broadband service, which launched commercially in January 2019. The upgraded network is also fully compatible with the original satellite constellation's services, a notable accomplishment given the size and scope of the upgrade.

Jean-Loic Galle, CEO of Thales Alenia Space remarked: "The 75 in-orbit satellites are working very well, and the overall end-to-end performance improvement for existing customers is dramatic. Two years after the first launch, Iridium NEXT, one of the most sophisticated communication systems in the world, is now totally deployed and fully operational. All the satellites are interconnected, and we have ensured a continuity of service without any interruption. We did it! And we did it together – together with the Iridium team, our customer with whom we worked all these years much more as a partner than as a customer, together with Northrop Grumman, with all our subcontractors, and with SpaceX. I'm convinced this one-team spirit was the secret of that success story."

The new Iridium Certus 9770 transceiver, also introduced during today's press conference, is a game changer for satellite IoT, aviation, maritime and consumer services, enabling low-cost, small devices that can make more efficient and higher speed connections than its predecessors. Built on the Iridium Certus technology platform, applications and devices made with the new transceiver will feature a range of speeds optimized for efficiently sending data to and from the user, typically in the range of less than 100kbps. The Iridium Certus 9770 is the first in a series of new devices that will augment Iridium's existing transceivers with approximately the same form-factor as existing narrowband antennas used widely today in aviation, maritime, IoT and land-mobile markets, but using native IP technology at up to 35 times the speed as current devices. This supports telemetry, pictures, high-quality voice calling, emails, internet access and more, at highly competitive prices. Sel ect licensed manufacturers of Iridium can expect to receive prototypes of the device around mid-2019.

The Iridium satellite network is comprised of 66 crosslinked satellites that create a web of coverage around the entire planet. Unlike other satellite systems, Iridium's crosslinked architecture enables real-time transit of data to and fr om any location on the globe without the need for abundant ground stations and allows it to maintain consistent, high-quality coverage, including over the oceans and polar regions.
[свернуть]
SOURCE Iridium Communications Inc.
Название: Iridium NEXT.
Отправлено: tnt22 от 09.02.2019 21:00:37
https://www.iridium.com/blog/2019/02/08/iridium-next-review/
ЦитироватьIridium® NEXT: in Review

by Iridium Communications (https://www.iridium.com/blog/author/lauren-silvairidium-com/) | Feb 8, 2019 | Corporate (https://www.iridium.com/blog/category/corporate/), Featured Stories (https://www.iridium.com/blog/category/featured-stories/), Industry Headlines (https://www.iridium.com/blog/category/industry-headlines/), Iridium NEXT (https://www.iridium.com/blog/category/network/iridium-next/)

Iridium® NEXT has been a historic mission here at Iridium, and in the space industry as a whole! Our team was able to completely replace the original Iridium constellation with all new, upgraded satellites, enabling new, faster services like Iridium CertusSM – all without disrupting service for our existing users!

A few days ago, we completed the transition of 100 percent of our services to the new satellites. As we celebrate this exciting milestone, let's take a look back at the stats that shaped the largest tech refresh in space history!

(https://d3i94nm5if678h.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/Iridium-NEXT-By-The-Numbers.png?x66942)

Iridium NEXT: By the Numbers
    [/li]
  • Approximately $3 Billion invested (http://investor.iridium.com/2019-01-11-Iridium-Completes-Historic-Satellite-Launch-Campaign) in the Iridium NEXT satellite replacement program since it was announced in 2007
  • 81 satellites built by Thales Alenia Space (https://www.thalesgroup.com/en/worldwide/space/news/iridium-next-constellation-story), with 66 in the active constellation, 9 in-orbit spares, and 6 ground spares
  • 8 successful Iridium NEXT launches with SpaceX (http://investor.iridium.com/june-16-2010-iridium-and-spacex-sign-major-commercial-launch-contract) in less than 2 years. Each launch sent 10 satellites into space – except Launch 6, which sent 5 during a historic rideshare (http://investor.iridium.com/2018-05-022-Iridium-Completes-Sixth-Successful-Iridium-R-NEXT-Launch) mission with NASA
  • Continued to provide uninterrupted communications (https://www.iridium.com/network/globalnetwork/) to 100% of the planet
  • Enabled the 1st ever truly global broadband service (https://www.iridium.com/services/iridium-certus/): Iridium Certus
  • 22 Iridium NEXT mission partners (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Ls_VcSovEE) involved in bringing the upgraded constellation to life
  • Each satellite is crosslinked (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dFBpsTC8y60) to up to 4 others – 2 in the same orbital plane and 1 in each adjacent plane, enabling continuous connections at a lower latency
  • hosted payloads (https://www.iridium.com/blog/2018/08/21/what-is-a-hosted-payload-iridium-aireon/) on each satellite, enabling the aviation and maritime industries to take advantage of real-time, truly global surveillance systems
The Iridium NEXT launch mission wasn't all we were up to in the past few years, though! While we finished launching 75 new satellites into space (66 in the active constellation and 9 in-orbit spares), in 2018 we also...
    [/li]
  • Broke a 20year monopoly on GMDSS, becoming the 2nd ever recognized provider for GMDSS (http://investor.iridium.com/Iridium-Makes-Maritime-Industry-History) satellite services to the maritime community
  • Introduced Iridium CloudConnect (http://investor.iridium.com/2018-09-27-Iridium-to-Simplify-Adoption-of-IoT-Solutions-Beyond-Cellular-Coverage-with-Amazon-Web-Services), which will enable Amazon Web Services IoT to be available to the 80%+ of the planet currently lacking communications coverage
  • Partnered with ICOM (http://investor.iridium.com/2018-11-09-Communicate-Globally-in-Real-Time-at-the-Push-of-a-Button-with-Iridium-and-Icom-Inc) to begin development on the world's 1st truly global push-to-talk only (PTT) radio handheld
  • Became the preferred provider of satellite communications for The Ocean Cleanup (https://www.iridium.com/blog/2018/11/28/iridium-the-ocean-cleanup/), an ambitious project to rid the world's oceans of plastic garbage and perform the largest ocean cleanup in history – starting with 50% of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch every 5 years
Название: Iridium NEXT.
Отправлено: кукушка от 25.02.2019 10:00:11
Завершено обновление спутниковой группировки Iridium (https://vk.com/space_live?w=wall-47256091_262428)

6 февраля компания Iridium Communications объявила о завершении обновления спутниковой системы Iridium до уровня Iridium NEXT. 

Спойлер
Спутниковая группировка стоимостью 3 миллиарда долларов строилась с 2010 года. В законченном виде она состоит из 66 спутников на низкой околоземной орбите, а также девяти запасных орбитальных спутников и шести запасных на Земле. 
(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/194029.jpg)
«Завершение развертывания группировки Iridium NEXT знаменует собой начало новой главы в истории Iridium. Теперь мы из поглотителей денежных средств превращаемся в их генератора», — заявил исполнительный директор Iridium Мэтт Деш (Matt Desch). 
«Мы осуществили длинное, но успешное восхождение к вершине и рады, что будущее компании обеспечено и что мы, наконец, стали опытным спутниковым оператором». 
Запуск первых 10 спутников следующего поколения состоялся в январе 2017 года. Для запуска всех спутников группировки понадобилось восемь пусков ракеты Falcon 9 компании SpaceX в течение двух лет. Все запуски проводились со стартового комплекса 4 на базе ВВС США Ванденберг в Калифорнии. 
Конечной целью кампании по обновлению спутников является предоставление целого спектра услуг заказчикам, от широкополосной связи до отслеживания воздушных судов в реальном времени. Спутники были разработаны и построены компанией Thales Alenia Space в рамках контракта с Iridium Communications стоимостью 2,1 миллиарда долларов. 
5 февраля 2019 года последние два спутника вышли в рабочий режим, что стало знаком завершения работ над обновлением группировки.
По заявлению компании, помимо новых спутников также введён в эксплуатацию приёмопередатчик Iridium Certus 9770, который должен помочь снизить затраты для пользователей малых устройств в авиации и судоходстве. Он может применяться в огромном количестве задач, а также обеспечивает прирост скорости и эффективности работы. 
Последние десять спутников группировки были запущены на ракете Falcon 9 Block 5 11 января 2019 года. 
 
(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/193360.jpg)

[свернуть]
Название: Iridium NEXT.
Отправлено: Pirat5 от 26.02.2019 12:10:44
(https://forum.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/forum/file/93367)
ссылки на элементы:
https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraft/display.action?id=2019-002J
http://www.n2yo.com/satellite/?s=43930
Название: Iridium NEXT.
Отправлено: tnt22 от 29.04.2019 22:25:16
Цитировать(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/67496.jpg)Matt Desch‏ @IridiumBoss (https://twitter.com/IridiumBoss) 4 мин. назад (https://twitter.com/IridiumBoss/status/1122943780095709184)

Our 81st and final Iridium NEXT satellite just completed AIT and has been tucked away in storage as our final (of 6) ground spares. This epic development and manufacturing program is now complete - and has been a great success! Thanks @Thales_Alenia_S (https://twitter.com/Thales_Alenia_S) & @northropgrumman (https://twitter.com/northropgrumman) !

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/161291.jpg)
Название: Iridium NEXT.
Отправлено: Liss от 23.08.2019 23:03:24
Из 75 запущенных в 2017-2019 гг. спутников Iridium NEXT по штатным точкам в шести плоскостях стоят 67 штук.
В силу неясных причин в 5-й плоскости в одной точке находится сразу два КА (Iridium 105 и Iridium 164). 105-й первоначально был запущен в 6-ю плоскость, но перебрался в 5-ю и встал в точку еще до запуска 164-го. Простейший вариант -- вышел из строя с концами без возможности увода и был заменен.
Кроме этого:
в 1-й плоскости один запасной КА дрейфует на высоте 747.7 км, на 30 км ниже рабочей (777.7 км);
во 2-й плоскости один запасной КА дрейфует на высоте 747.7 км;
в 6-й плоскости два запасных КА дрейфуют на высоте 747.7 км;
в 3-й плоскости три КА дрейфуют на одинаковой высоте 653.9 км, располагаясь при этом через 33°, как и рабочие спутники;
еще один КА неспешно ползет из 3-й плоскости в 4-ю, имея высоту 763.1 км.
Название: Iridium NEXT.
Отправлено: Олег от 03.09.2019 04:14:43
В 03.09.2019  19:07:03 UTC опасно сблизятся IRIDIUM 155 и обломок COSMOS 2251 ( 37530 ) над Индокитаем.
По расчетам 0.4 км. 
Название: Iridium NEXT.
Отправлено: zandr от 25.04.2022 23:41:47
https://novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/news/83532/
ЦитироватьIridium ведет переговоры о запуске своих резервных спутников
Компания Iridium сообщила о том, что она в этом году планирует запустить пять из шести спутников, которые хранятся на складе в штате Аризона. В настоящий момент времени оператор еще не обнародовал данные о соответствующих средствах выведения, но отметил, что речь идет о сумме сделки около $35 млн.
Также в Iridum отметили, что новый запуск не означает проблему с уже работающими спутниками, а вызван желанием компании как-то задействовать аппараты, которые сейчас просто находятся на складе и на хранение которых компании приходится тратить средства, пишет Ecoruspace.
А.Ж.
Название: Iridium NEXT.
Отправлено: zandr от 15.09.2022 08:24:23
https://vk.com/spacex?w=wall-41152133_428698
ЦитироватьSpaceX запустят на орбиту запасные спутники Iridium
Компания Iridium планирует запустить на орбиту до пяти из шести оставшихся запасных спутников Iridium NEXT в рамках совместной миссии Iridium-9 на ракете Falcon 9. Запуск планируется с космодрома Ванденберг в середине 2023 года.

Iridium построили резервные спутники в качестве подстраховки от неудачного запуска во время кампании по выводу 75 спутников Iridium NEXT с 2017 по 2019 год. Но тогда все они были благополучно выведены на орбиту за восемь запусков ракеты Falcon 9.

"Все спутники нашей группировки в строю, однако запасные спутники бесполезны пока находятся на Земле. Мы построили дополнительные спутники в качестве страховки, но учитывая звёздный послужной список SpaceX, мы с нетерпением ждём ещё одного успешного запуска, который позволит нам увеличить возможности нашей группировки по мере увеличения списка сервисов Iridium.

Мы уже готовим плейлист Spotify (ред. - компания по традиции подготавливает музыкальные треки для сопровождения запуска, которые размещает в определённой последовательности и синхронизирует по времени с основными этапами миссии, а затем размещает плейлист в открытом доступе), и свой голос для обратного отсчета... Этот запуск сделает нашу сеть еще более устойчивой, что важно, когда от неё зависит безопасность жизни и критически важных услуг. Кроме того, запуски - это (буквально) контролируемый взрыв!" - заявил Мэт Дэш (Matt Desch), исполнительный директор компании Iridium.