Admin
Iridium Communications will conduct compatibility tests on the first satellite engineering model for the Iridium NEXT satellite constellation following its delivery to the company’s technical support center.
The company said Monday the model will be integrated into the Iridium Satellite Control System to demonstrate its features and check its compatibility with the constellation.
“We are very excited about taking delivery into the lab of the first Iridium NEXT-capable satellite, enabling us to test compatibility and functionality of the new satellites and supporting operational capability, which is an enormous step toward the launch of Iridium NEXT,” said Scott Smith, chief operating officer at Iridium.
The technical support center has supported Iridium network operations and maintenance since 2001 and the facility also functions as a backup operations center and qualification and testing lab, Iridium said.
That center also provides a platform for testing and verification before the Iridium NEXT constellation launches in 2015.
