SpaceX is targeting Friday, March 30 for a Falcon 9 launch of the Iridium-5 NEXT mission from Space Launch Complex 4E (SLC-4E) at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. This is the fifth 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. The instantaneous launch opportunity is at 7:13 a.m. PDT or 14:13 UTC and the satellites will begin deployment about an hour after launch.
A backup instantaneous launch opportunity is available on Saturday, March 31 at 7:08 a.m. PDT or 14:08 UTC.
Falcon 9’s first stage for the Iridium-5 mission previously supported the Iridium-3 mission from SLC-4E in October 2017. SpaceX will not attempt to recover Falcon 9’s first stage after launch.
