flown bySpaceXUSA

Iridium NEXT-6

Success
MAY 22201819:47:58 UTC

Unusually mixed cargo: five Iridium NEXT satellites shared the fairing with the two GRACE-FO spacecraft, a joint NASA / GFZ science mission that tracks Earth's shifting mass distribution to monitor groundwater, glaciers, and ocean circulation. The GRACE-FO rideshare had been arranged with Iridium after the original Dnepr launch contract was cancelled in 2015.

launched fromSLC-4EVandenberg

aboardFalcon 9 B4F9-055intoLEO

Booster

B1043.2

no recovery attempt

Payloads · 2

  • 01

    Iridium NEXT-6 (5 satellites)

    Communications

  • 02

    GRACE-FO x 2

    Gravitational science

last updated1 day ago