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Questions tagged [iridium]

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3 votes
1 answer
2k views

Are Starlink satellites flaring?

The "Old and Busted" Iridium satellites flared like crazy because they had big flat metal surfaces for their phased array antennas (that were certainly so shiny completely by accident and ...
uhoh's user avatar
  • 149k
2 votes
0 answers
76 views

How much hydrazine does an Iridium satellite start with? How much does it use per year?

Iridium satellites use hydrazine and the spacecraft are expected to last at least 15 years. How much hydrazine do Iridium satellites start with, and if possible, roughly do they use per year?
Joe Jobs's user avatar
  • 2,650
3 votes
1 answer
94 views

Problems receiving Iridium messages during the middle of the 'day' in the far North

I have some scientific instruments using Iridium modems for communication active at around or higher than 82°N. At the time of writing this message, we are in middle of August, i.e. the polar day ...
Zorglub29's user avatar
  • 131
3 votes
2 answers
752 views

Why do orbits in the Iridium constellation have an inclination of 86.4°?

Wikipedia's Iridium_satellite constellation; In-orbit spares says that Iridium satellites have an inclination of 86.4°: Significant orbital inclination changes are normally very fuel-intensive, but ...
uhoh's user avatar
  • 149k
3 votes
0 answers
3k views

How to see Iridium Flares (if possible) in 2020 and beyond?

On December 27th, 2019, Iridium 97 burned up in the atmosphere and there was a "#Flarewell" celebration. However, according to this website which seems to be VERY detailed, there are still 5 ...
user34786's user avatar
  • 131
11 votes
1 answer
916 views

Why no Iridium-level flares from other satellites?

Wikipedia explains Iridium and other satellite flares very well. The Iridium reflective surfaces are at very particular angles and can flare up to magnitude -9.5, however other satellites don't ...
Dave Gremlin's user avatar
  • 3,083
1 vote
1 answer
91 views

How much of the piggybacked Aireon system rely on its Iridium Next hosts?

The NBC News article Next-generation satellites gave federal officials key data in Boeing 737 Max investigation says: The Federal Aviation Administration, or FAA, grounded Boeing's 737 Max airplanes ...
uhoh's user avatar
  • 149k
2 votes
0 answers
58 views

Are there any pictures of Iridium flares from the ISS?

As the title states, are there any pictures of Iridium flares from the ISS? Related: How much longer will we be able to see Iridium satellite flares?
DrSheldon's user avatar
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5 votes
1 answer
133 views

Efficiency and timing of the Iridium-6/GRACE-FO low-power burn and coast phase?

In the video of the recent Iridium-6/GRACE-FO launch at about T+ 08:13 (curently at 24:12 in the video) the announcer says: ...
uhoh's user avatar
  • 149k
10 votes
2 answers
401 views

Deploying multiple satellites from one second stage

I’m just watching the Iridium-6/GRACE-FO launch from SpaceX. Before the launch they showed a video of the Iridium satellite network and in this mission they deployed 5 additional satellites into LEO. ...
Fogmeister's user avatar
3 votes
2 answers
223 views

SpaceX's Iridium 4: Explanation of Trail Footage

There is a lot of footage of SpaceX's Iridium 4 mission of 22 Dec 2017. The rocket's vapor trails look very different from those of airplanes, since it gains a lot of height. Anyhow, the result looks ...
Everyday Astronaut's user avatar
5 votes
1 answer
1k views

How exactly are satellites drifted to slots in different orbital planes?

The Iridium constellation is being replaced by new satellites. There are six planes with 11 satellites + one spare each. Since the Falcon 9 launcher can only carry ten satellites per launch, filling ...
eerie's user avatar
  • 439
5 votes
1 answer
401 views

What goes into an Iridium Flare prediction model besides the ephemerides?

Empirical Answer Considered! (see the end of the question for details) Iridium satellite flares are a class of Satellite Flares that originate from satellites in the current Iridium constellation. ...
uhoh's user avatar
  • 149k
5 votes
2 answers
708 views

How much longer will we be able to see Iridium satellite flares?

I've literally just heard here that the days of observing Iridium satellite flares are numbered. Of course it's common sense, but I never thought about it. Roughly how soon are these going to start ...
uhoh's user avatar
  • 149k
4 votes
1 answer
269 views

What does a steep change in mean anomaly indicate?

I'm following the slot swaps of the Iridium satellites in plane 6 and cannot make sense of the following: The TLEs of three of the old satellites very often show a marked difference in the mean ...
eerie's user avatar
  • 439

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