MCLEAN, Va., July 25, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Iridium Communications Inc. (NASDAQ: IRDM) announced today that at 04:39:30 am PDT (11:39:30 UTC) a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket successfully launched 10 Iridium NEXT satellites to low earth orbit (LEO). Lifting off from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, this was the seventh of eight launches planned for the Iridium NEXT constellation, replacing the company's existing 66 satellite network. Only one more launch of 10 satellites remains until the Iridium NEXT network is completed, ushering in a new era of capabilities, like the Iridium Certus^SM broadband service and Aireon^SM real-time aircraft surveillance system.

Completion of Iridium NEXT will spark both a technological and financial transformation for the company, while providing its partner ecosystem with an unrivaled industry platform for innovation.  The Iridium partner ecosystem, consisting of hundreds of companies, plays an invaluable role in the creation, distribution and servicing of Iridium equipment, airtime and applications.  Among the new services, Iridium Certus will provide the fastest L-band broadband service globally, turbocharging Iridium satellite connectivity using smaller and more cost-effective terminals. Five industry-leading companies have been selected by Iridium as Value Added Manufacturers for Iridium Certus, including Thales, Cobham, Rockwell Collins, L3 Communications and most recently, Gogo.  This group of companies has been joined by more than twenty Iridium Certus service providers who will be providing the service for maritime, aviation, Internet of Things, land-mobile and government-related industries.

"This historic constellation refresh is one launch away from completion," said Matt Desch, chief executive officer at Iridium. "We know our partners are just as excited about the new network being finished as we are, and how that will bring the full power of the Iridium NEXT constellation to life. We've come a long way, and we are particularly excited to see the financial transformation enabled by the completion of the Iridium NEXT system and the associated drop in capital expenditures."

The 10 Iridium NEXT satellites launched as part of the seventh mission were delivered to orbital plane number five, where they will go in to operation immediately following testing and validation.  The Iridium network is comprised of six polar orbiting planes, each containing 11 crosslinked satellites for a total of 66 in the operational constellation.  Upon activation of all 10 new satellites, orbital plane five will become the fourth Iridium orbital plane to be comprised exclusively of Iridium NEXT satellites.  In total, 81 satellites are being built with 75 planned for launch. Nine of the satellites launched will serve as on-orbit spares, and the remaining six will be ground spares.

For more information about Iridium NEXT, please visit www.IridiumNEXT.com.

For more information about Iridium's partner ecosystem, please visit https://www.iridium.com/company-info/partner-ecosystem/

About Iridium Communications Inc.

Iridium is the only mobile voice and data satellite communications network that spans the entire globe. Iridium enables connections between people, organizations and assets to and from anywhere, in real time. Together with its ecosystem of partner companies, Iridium delivers an innovative and rich portfolio of reliable solutions for markets that require truly global communications. The company has a major development program underway for its next-generation network — Iridium NEXT. Iridium Communications Inc. is headquartered in McLean, Va., U.S.A., and its common stock trades on the NASDAQ Global Select Market under the ticker symbol IRDM. For more information about Iridium products, services and partner solutions, visit www.iridium.com.

Forward Looking Statements

Statements in this press release that are not purely historical facts may constitute forward-looking statements as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The Company has based these statements on its current expectations and the information currently available to us. Forward-looking statements in this press release include statements regarding the deployment of the Iridium NEXT constellation, and the capabilities and benefits of new services to be enabled by the Iridium NEXT constellation, including Iridium Certus and Aireon. Forward-looking statements can be identified by the words "anticipates," "may," "can," "believes," "expects," "projects," "intends," "likely," "will," "to be" and other expressions that are predictions or indicate future events, trends or prospects. These forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of Iridium to differ materially from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, uncertainties regarding potential delays in the Iridium NEXT deployment, the development and functionality of Iridium NEXT and related services, and the company's ability to maintain the health, capacity and content of its satellite constellation, as well as general industry and economic conditions, and competitive, legal, governmental and technological factors. Other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated by the forward-looking statements include those factors listed under the caption "Risk Factors" in the Company's Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2017, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") on February 22, 2018, and in the Company's Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2018, filed with the SEC on April 26, 2018, as well as other filings Iridium makes with the SEC from time to time. There is no assurance that Iridium's expectations will be realized. If one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or if Iridium's underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those expected, estimated or projected. Iridium's forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this press release, and Iridium undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking statements.

SOURCE Iridium Communications Inc.