“Three, two, one, ignition, liftoff of Falcon 9,” Iridium CEO Matt Desch said on a live webcast as the white Falcon 9 rocket took flight from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California at 7:31 am (1531 GMT). The mission, carrying 10 Iridium NEXT satellites to orbit, completes Iridium’s project to replace the world’s largest commercial communication satellite network with 75 new satellites in orbit. Friday’s launch was SpaceX’s eighth and final in a series for Iridium, which is headquartered in Virginia.
