SpaceX Iridium-6/GRACE-FO Alternative

SpaceX conducted its tenth launch of the year, deploying five commercial Iridium communications satellites and the GRACE Follow-On Earth science mission for NASA and the German Research Centre for Geosciences. The flight-proven Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from California’s Vandenberg Air Force Base at 12:47:48 local time (19:47 UTC). The dual-satellite GRACE Follow-On mission, a partnership between NASA and the German Research Centre for Geosciences (GFZ), is a successor to the highly-successful GRACE satellites that ceased operations last year after fifteen years of service. Tuesday’s launch will also carry to orbit five more satellites for Iridium Communications’ second-generation Iridium-...View all