FCC Greenlights Iridium Plan for Deorbiting Its 1st-generation Constellation http://www.spacenews.com/article/satellite-telecom/41898fcc-greenlights-irid ium-plan-for-deorbiting-its-1st-generation This reads, in part: [The first generation satellites] will be lowered to an elliptical orbit low enough to force them into the atmosphere to burn up within months, not years. ... ... Iridium plans to launch a second-generation constellation starting in mid-2015, with all 71 second-generation satellites to be in orbit by late 2017. As soon as the second-generation satellites are in place, the first-generation constellation will be deorbited, with the possible exception of a few spacecraft to be used as spares, Iridium has told the FCC. The second generation satellite doesn't look to me like it will be making flares, at least not of the type we've grown to know and love: Iridium | About | Iridium NEXT https://www.iridium.com/About/IridiumNEXT.aspx This sounds to me like the end of Iridium flares after 2017, "with the possible exception of a few [first generation] spacecraft to be used as spares." Am I misreading this? Jim Cook _______________________________________________ Seesat-l mailing list http://mailman.satobs.org/mailman/listinfo/seesat-lReceived on Thu Sep 18 2014 - 22:16:15 UTC
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