VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- Team Vandenberg supported the successful launch of ten Iridium NEXT satellites on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Space Launch Complex 4E here Sunday, Jun. 25, at 1:25 p.m. PDT.
This was the first launch for Col. Michael S. Hough, 30th Space Wing commander, since he took command on June 9th.
"We are once again proud to support another successful launch of Iridium NEXT," said Hough. "This launch is a perfect demonstration of the high level of teamwork and precision that exists between Team Vandenberg and SpaceX."
This was the second of eight planned Falcon 9 launches supporting the deployment of Iridium’s next generation global satellite constellation, Iridium NEXT. Each launch contributes to replacing the world’s largest commercial satellite network and the only network that covers 100 percent of the earth. Iridium NEXT will enable new capabilities like Aireon’s real-time, global aircraft surveillance and tracking service, and Iridium Certus?, the Company’s next-generation communications platform that will bring broadband speeds to even the world’s most remote locations.