Iridium-1 satellite launch. SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying the Iridium-1 satellite lifting off from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California, USA, on 14th January 2017. The Iridium satellite constellation provides voice and data coverage to satellite phones, pagers and integrated transceivers over the entire Earth's surface. SpaceX (Space Exploration Technologies), a private US aerospace and space transport services company, has been contracted to launch 70 Iridium NEXT satellites from 2015-2017.