미국 현지시간으로 2018년 7월 25일, 이리디움 NEXT 위성 7차 발사가 성공적으로 완료되었습니다.
본 7차 발사체에는 총 10기의 이리디움 위성이 탑재되어 있었습니다.
7차 발사가 성공됨으로서, 현재까지 총 66기의 이리디움 넥스트 위성이 교체가 완료되었으며, 완벽한 세대교체까지 단 한 차례의 발사를 남겨두고 있습니다.
마지막 8차 발사가 완료되면 차세대 이리디움 서비스를 제공할 수 있습니다.
위성 세대교체 완료로 제공이 가능해질 차세대 이리디움 서비스인 이리디움 써투스는 소규모의 비용 효율적인 터미널을 통해 이리디움 위성 연결 속도를 높여, 가장 빠른 전지구적인 L밴드 광대역 서비스를 제공합니다.
MCLEAN, Va. – July 25, 2018 – 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 from 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.
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 selected 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 from 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, where 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.