Khrunichev State Research and Production Space Center

Iridium 62 to 68

Proton-K/17S40

SUCCESS
Success

Tuesday, April 7, 1998 · 02:13 UTC

Mission

/01

Iridium provides global mobile telecommunications services using a constellation of 66 low earth orbit satellites in a 86.4° inclined orbit. Although 77 satellites were originally envisioned for the system and spawned the name based on the 77th element in the periodic table, the system has been scaled back. Motorola's Satellite Communications Group designed and manufactured the Iridium satellites with Lockheed Martin providing the LM-700A spacecraft buses.

Mission Type

Communications

Orbit

Low Earth Orbit (LEO)

Probability

N/A

Status

Launch Successful

Vehicle & Pad

/02

Rocket

Proton-K/17S40

Variant: 17S40

Launch Pad

81/23 (81L)

Baikonur Cosmodrome, Republic of Kazakhstan

46.074° N, 62.978° E

78

Pad Launches

1106

Location Launches

52

Agency Launches

22

Orbital This Year

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