Anonymous
Source: Vandenberg Air Force Base
Team Vandenberg supported the successful launch of 10 Iridium satellites on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Space Launch Complex-4 here Monday, Oct. 9, at 5:37 a.m. PDT.
Col. Michael S. Hough, 30th Space Wing commander, was the space launch commander for this mission.
“This is the fourth Falcon 9 and the third Iridium NEXT launch in 2017 from Vandenberg,” said Hough. “This launch continues to highlight the extraordinary level of teamwork and precision that exists between Team Vandenberg and SpaceX.”
This was the third Falcon 9 launch supporting the deployment of Iridium Communication Inc. 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.
By Anthony Galván III
A Space X Falcon 9 rocket was launched this morning at 5:42 PDT. The Falcon 9 booster landed successfully on a barge in the Pacific south of Vandenberg.
The payload of 10 Iridium communications satellites will be placed in orbit as the orbit is stabilized.
The view through heavy cloud cover in Goleta provided a dramatic effect of the booster engine’s flames illuminating the clouds from the launch site and small opening to see the rocket for a few seconds.
