Iridium / connectivity constellation
sourcingtypical 4/5 · 11 factsThe Iridium satellite constellation provides L-band voice and data coverage to satellite phones, satellite messenger devices, and integrated transceivers. Iridium Communications owns and operates the constellation, which consists of 66 active satellites in orbit required for global coverage, plus additional spare satellites. The satellites fly in low Earth orbit at approximately 781 km altitude and 86.4° inclination, communicating with each other via Ka-band inter-satellite links to provide coverage including polar regions, oceans, and airways.
stock
NASDAQ: IRDM (source, as of 2026-07-08)
faq
Who operates Iridium?
Iridium is operated by Iridium Communications Inc.. (source, as of 2026-07-08)
How many Iridium satellites are active on orbit?
CelesTrak's catalog currently tracks 80 objects for Iridium. (source, as of 2026-09-08)
When did Iridium first launch?
Iridium first launched on 2017-01-14. (source, as of 2026-07-08)
facts
sats active (verified) counts objects currently tracked in CelesTrak's catalog for this constellation. It is a tracking count, not an operator claim about satellite health.
orbit
events
- notable2026-08-28SpaceX asks FCC to scrutinize Iridium's conduct in Rocket Lab merger review
- noise2026-07-28Skywave adds Iridium SBD service to its industrial IoT platform
- noise2026-07-23Intellian launches C100M terminal, completing Iridium GMDSS lineup
- notable2026-07-14Iridium's PNT ASIC chip reaches commercial availability
- seismic2026-06-29Rocket Lab agrees to acquire Iridium in $8 billion cash-and-stock deal
timeline
- 20262026-07-06Iridium completes acquisition of remaining 61% of Aireon for about $367 million (per SpaceNews) (source, as of 2026-07-13)
- 2026-07-05Rocket Lab agrees to acquire Iridium in $8 billion cash-and-stock deal (source, as of 2026-07-13)
- 20192019-01-11Iridium launches another batch of Iridium NEXT satellites on Falcon 9 (source, as of 2026-07-12)
- 2019-01-11SpaceX completes Iridium NEXT constellation deployment (per SpaceNews) (source, as of 2026-07-12)
- 20172017-01-14Iridium launches first ten Iridium NEXT satellites on Falcon 9 (source, as of 2026-07-12)
- 19971997-05-05Iridium launches its first five constellation satellites on a Delta II (source, as of 2026-07-12)