Iridium 09 to 14 & Iridium 16

Delivered seven Iridium satellites to low Earth orbit from Baikonur using a Block DM2 upper stage that released the cluster in pairs before deorbiting itself, part of the buildout of the 66-satellite Iridium mobile communications constellation.

Outcome

Success

Orbit

LEO

Low Earth orbit

Payload to orbit

5.9 T

Flight

2nd

of 6 Proton-K/17S40 flights

Date and time

18 June 1997, 14:02 UTC

Rocket

Proton-K/17S40

Builder

Khrunichev

Launch site

81/23 (81L), Baikonur Cosmodrome, Republic of Kazakhstan

Payload

Communications

International designator

1997-030

Launches in 1997

32nd of 89

See it in orbit

Space Atlas shows the satellites and rocket stages from this launch in 3D.

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