SpaceX Backlog to Delay Next Iridium Next Launch to June

A SpaceX backlog will push the second launch of Iridium Next broadband satellites from mid-April, as was originally targeted, to mid-June, Iridium said in a news release Wednesday. The SpaceX backlog is due to the September explosion that also delayed the inaugural launch of Next constellation satellites from September to January (see 1701060064). Iridium said the June launch will involve another 10 Next satellites on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, and the company is planning six subsequent Next launches, about every two months thereafter, with the Next constellation in orbit by mid-2018. Iridium said it connected its first Next satellite by crosslinks to its global low earth orbit constellation, with that satellite expected to begin providing service within days.