Iridium 7 was a U.S. Iridium communications satellite. It was launched into low Earth orbit from Vandenberg Air Force Base at 14:55 GMT on 5 May 1997, by a Delta II 7920-10C carrier rocket.[1] It was operated in Plane 4 of the Iridium satellite constellation, with an ascending node of 262.4°.[1]

Iridium 7
A mockup of an Iridium satellite
Mission typeCommunication
OperatorIridium Satellite LLC
COSPAR ID1997-020B Edit this at Wikidata
SATCAT no.24793Edit this on Wikidata
Spacecraft properties
BusLM-700A
ManufacturerLockheed Martin
Start of mission
Launch date5 May 1997 (1997-05-05)
RocketDelta II 7920-10C
Launch siteVandenberg SLC-2W
Orbital parameters
Reference systemGeocentric
RegimeLow Earth

It had a partial technical failure in 2009 and was subsequently paired with Iridium 51, and relegated to following it and managing traffic routing.[2]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b Wade, Mark. "Iridium". Encyclopedia Astronautica. Archived from the original on February 16, 2009. Retrieved December 3, 2012.
  2. ^ Application for Special Temporary Authority http://orbitrax.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/SV051.pdf