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Falcon 9 Block 4 | Iridium-6 & GRACE-FO
Falcon 9 Block 4 | Iridium-6 & GRACE-FO launched on Tue, May 22, 2018, 07:47 PM UTC — a SpaceX mission.
Launch SuccessfulSpaceX
Lifted offNET May 2018
NET Tue, May 22, 2018, 07:47 PM UTC
Live coverage
Watch the webcasts
4 streams available — switch between the provider’s feed, X and others.
Mission profile
The flight at a glance
Falcon 9Vehicle
SpaceXProvider
Space Launch Complex 4EPad
Vandenberg SFB, CA, USALocation
Iridium ConstellationProgram
CommunicationsMission type
Low Earth OrbitOrbit
Flight simulation
Ascent to orbit
A representative gravity-turn climb for Falcon 9 to Low Earth Orbit. Illustrative model — not this mission’s live telemetry.
Mission timeT+0:00
Altitude0.0 km
Velocity0.00 km/s
PhaseLiftoff
T+0:00 / 8:00
SimulatedRepresentative Falcon 9 ascent profile — illustrative model, not this mission’s live telemetry.
The mission
Iridium-6 & GRACE-FO
SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket will deliver 10 satellites to low Earth orbit for Iridium, a global leader in mobile voice and data satellite communications. This is the sixth set of 10 satellites in a series of 75 total satellites that SpaceX will launch for Iridium’s next generation global satellite constellation, Iridium® NEXT. Sharing this launch is the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment Follow-on mission, which is a joint project of NASA and the German Research Centre for Geosciences. It's goal is to track Earth's water movement to monitor changes in underground water storage, the amount of water in large lakes and rivers, soil moisture, ice sheets and glaciers, and sea level caused by the addition of water to the ocean.
Around this launch
Related news
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As coverage publishes, deduplicated articles about this mission will appear here.
Good to know
Frequently asked
What time does Falcon 9 Block 4 | Iridium-6 & GRACE-FO launch?
Falcon 9 Block 4 | Iridium-6 & GRACE-FO is scheduled to lift off Tue, May 22, 2018, 07:47 PM UTC.
Where can I watch Falcon 9 Block 4 | Iridium-6 & GRACE-FO?
Watch the official live webcast embedded on this page — it goes live shortly before liftoff.
Who is launching Falcon 9 Block 4 | Iridium-6 & GRACE-FO?
Falcon 9 Block 4 | Iridium-6 & GRACE-FO is a SpaceX mission flying on a Falcon 9.
Where does Falcon 9 Block 4 | Iridium-6 & GRACE-FO launch from?
It lifts off from Space Launch Complex 4E, Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA.