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| Iridium NEXT - Satellite Missions - eoPortal Directory Schedule as of 2011 |
Component Issue Delays Iridium Next Launches by 4 Months
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.
- See more at: http://spacenews.com/component-issue-delays-iridium-next-launches-by-four-months/#sthash.FD9fqgo6.dpuf
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.
- See more at: http://spacenews.com/component-issue-delays-iridium-next-launches-by-four-months/#sthash.FD9fqgo6.dpuf
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.
- See more at: http://spacenews.com/component-issue-delays-iridium-next-launches-by-four-months/#sthash.FD9fqgo6.dpuf
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.
- See more at: http://spacenews.com/component-issue-delays-iridium-next-launches-by-four-months/#sthash.FD9fqgo6.dpuf
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.
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.
Satellite News Digest
First Iridium NEXT launch delayed
29 Oct 2015 - Thales Alenia Space, prime contractor for the Iridium NEXT constellation, said it reached a major milestone in this programme with the successful completion of thermal-vacuum tests of the protoflight satellite at its plant in Cannes. This is the last milestone leading up to the qualification of Iridium NEXT satellites, expected in December 2015.
Dnepr • Iridium Next 1 and 2
An Russian ISC Kosmotras Dnepr rocket will launch the first two satellites for the Iridium Next mobile communications satellite fleet to replace older version of Iridium constellation. Specifically, the Company announced the execution of a fixed price contract with Thales Alenia Space for the design and construction of satellites for the Iridium NEXT constellation. Delayed from June and October.
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