SpaceX kicks off the year with the final Iridium launch

This morning at 10:31am EDT (7:31am PST), SpaceX launched their Falcon 9 rocket for the first time this year from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California, carrying the final batch of Iridium satellites into orbit around the Earth. This brought the total of the next generation of Iridium satellites in orbit to 75, completing the constellation.

This launch featured a flight-proven first stage which previously supported the Telstar 18 VANTAGE mission that launched from Cape Canaveral back in September. After launch, this first stage came back down and landed on the West Coast drone ship "Just Read The Instructions" successfully.