Iridium-8Falcon 9 Block 5SpaceX Launch Status Success Fri ยท Jan 11th, 2019 10:31 AM EST Watch Online MissionIridium-8Type: CommunicationsSpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket will deliver 10 satellites to low Earth orbit for Iridium, a global leader in mobile voice and data satellite communications. This is the eighth set of 10 satellites in a series of 75 total satellites that SpaceX will launch for Iridium's next generation global satellite constellation, Iridium NEXT. LocationSpace Launch Complex 4EVandenberg AFB, CA, USA83 rockets have launched from Vandenberg AFB, CA, USA. RocketFalcon 9 Block 5Length: 70 meters Diameter: 3.65 meters First Launch: May 11, 2018Falcon 9 is a two-stage rocket designed and manufactured by SpaceX for the reliable and safe transport of satellites and the Dragon spacecraft into orbit. The Block 5 variant is the fifth major interval aimed at improving upon the ability for rapid reusability.The Falcon 9 Block 5 rocket has been launched a total of 56 times with 56 successful and 0 failed launches. LandingThe booster will attempt a landing on Just Read the Instructions in the Pacific Ocean.Just Read the Instructions – JRTIThe third ASDS barge, Just Read the Instructions (JRTI) is currently used to recover Falcon 9 boosters in the Altantic Ocean. It used to service launches in the Pacific Ocean for launches from Vandenberg AFB. It was first put to use in January of 2016 to attempt to recover a Falcon 9 first-stage booster from the Jason-3 mission which successfully landed but subsequently fell over and experienced an Rapid Unscheduled Disassembly (RUD).Autonomous Spaceport Drone Ship – ASDSAn autonomous spaceport drone ship (ASDS) is an ocean-going vessel derived from a deck barge, outfitted with station-keeping engines and a large landing platform. Construction of such ships was commissioned by aerospace company SpaceX to allow for recovery of rocket first-stages at sea for high-velocity missions which do not carry enough fuel to return to the launch site after lofting spacecraft onto an orbital trajectory. AgencySpaceXType: Commercial Abbreviation: SpX Administration: CEO: Elon Musk Founded: 2002 Launchers: Falcon Spacecraft: Dragon Country: USASpace Exploration Technologies Corp., known as SpaceX, is an American aerospace manufacturer and space transport services company headquartered in Hawthorne, California. It was founded in 2002 by entrepreneur Elon Musk with the goal of reducing space transportation costs and enabling the colonization of Mars. SpaceX has many pads, on the East Coast of the US they own SLC-40 at Cape Canaveral and LC-39A at the Kennedy Space Center for their lower inclination launches. They also own SLC-4E at Vandenberg, California for their high inclination launches. Another site is also being developed at Boca Chica, Texas. View Rocket Launch Schedule