Iridium Announces Successful Completion of First-Launch Iridium NEXT Satellites Activities and Second Launch Date
May 02 2017 - 8:01AM
Iridium Communications Inc. (NASDAQ:IRDM), the only communications
company with 100 percent global coverage, has announced that the
first set of Iridium NEXT 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.
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’ 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. For
real-time updates about the Iridium NEXT program, please go to
www.IridiumNext.com and follow Iridium on Facebook (Iridium
Communications), Twitter (@IridiumComm) and LinkedIn (Iridium).
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 Select Market under the ticker symbol IRDM. For more
information about Iridium products, services and partner solutions,
visit www.iridium.com.
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 from 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.
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
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