Iridium NEXT Mission 6

22 May 2018 19:47

GFZ arranged a rideshare of GRACE-FO on a Falcon 9 with Iridium following the cancellation of their Dnepr launch contract in 2015. Iridium CEO Matt Desch disclosed in September 2017 that GRACE-FO would be launched on the sixth Iridium NEXT mission. The booster reuse turnaround was a record 4.5 months between flights.