Iridium adds five years to constellation lifetime estimate

Iridium Communications expects to get another five years out of its satellites, pushing out any need to complete a replenishment of the L-band connectivity constellation to at least 2035. The 80 satellites in the operator’s second-generation Iridium Next low Earth orbit (LEO) constellation, launched from 2017-2019 apart from five spares lofted last year, came with a 12.5-year design life from their prime contractor, Thales Alenia Space. Speaking during Iridium’s Feb. 15 quarterly earnings call, CEO Matt Desch said a recent engineering assessment “prompted us to update the constellation’s estimated life, which we now believe will perform well to at least 2035.” More

(Source: SpaceNews - Feb 16)