Iridium Communications today announced that the upcoming Iridium NEXT launch has been targeted for 30 September. This launch will deliver another 10 Iridium NEXT satellites to orbit on SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket and will bring the total number of Iridium NEXT satellites deployed to 30.
In addition to supporting two-way cockpit communications, safety services on the flight deck and light cabin connectivity (largely directed at the business aviation market), Iridium NEXT satellites are carrying the ever-important Aireon payload, which will provide space-based ADS-B global air traffic surveillance to operators. In this episode of #PaxEx TV, we explore why Iridium NEXT and Aireon is important to aviation safety, operations and #PaxEx.