Iridium 7

Iridium 7 was a U.S. Iridium communications satellite. It was launched into low Earth orbit from Vandenberg Air Force Base at 14:55 GMT on 5 May 1997, by a Delta II 7920-10C carrier rocket.^[1] It was operated in Plane 4 of the Iridium satellite constellation, with an ascending node of 262.4°.^[1]

Iridium 7

A mockup of an Iridium satellite
Mission type	Communication
Operator	Iridium Satellite LLC
COSPAR ID	1997-020B
SATCAT no.	24793
Spacecraft properties
Bus	LM-700A
Manufacturer	Lockheed Martin
Start of mission
Launch date	5 May 1997 (1997-05-05)
Rocket	Delta II 7920-10C
Launch site	Vandenberg SLC-2W
Orbital parameters
Reference system	Geocentric
Regime	Low Earth

It had a partial technical failure in 2009 and was subsequently paired with Iridium 51, and relegated to following it and managing traffic routing.^[2]

See also

• Spaceflight portal

• 1997 in spaceflight