KhSC Proton-K/17S40 Iridium 27 to 33

Name: KhSC Proton-K/17S40 Iridium 27 to 33
Start: 1997-09-14T01:36:54.000Z
Location: 81/23 (81L)

Proton-K/17S40

Status

Success

Date

14 SEP 1997

01:36

Launch Provider

Khrunichev State Research and Production Space Center

Launch Pad

81/23 (81L)

Baikonur Cosmodrome, Republic of Kazakhstan

Mission Overview

Iridium provides global mobile telecommunications services using a constellation of 66 low earth orbit satellites in a 86.4° inclined orbit. Although 77 satellites were originally envisioned for the system and spawned the name based on the 77th element in the periodic table, the system has been scaled back. Motorola's Satellite Communications Group designed and manufactured the Iridium satellites with Lockheed Martin providing the LM-700A spacecraft buses.

Rocket

Proton-K/17S40

Mission Type

Communications

Orbit

Low Earth Orbit

Stages

Livestream

Not available

Rocket Details

The Proton-K was a Russian, previously Soviet, carrier rocket derived from the earlier Proton. It was built by Khrunichev, and launched from sites 81 and 200 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.

Height

59 m

Diameter

4.15 m

Launch Mass

708 T

Thrust

8,847 kN