Rocket Lab to Acquire Iridium for $8B, X Report 30 Jun 2026
Rocket Lab will acquire Iridium for $8B to challenge SpaceX, whose Starlink constellation holds 10,706 working satellites of 12,390 launched.
Launch Date
July 8, 1994
Launch Site
FRGUI
Launch Pad
ELA2
Launch Vehicle
Ariane 44L
NORAD ID
23176
International Designator
1994-040B
Epoch
Sat, 04 Jul 2026 02:59:26 GMT
Apogee
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Perigee
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Inclination
13.39°
Right Ascension
19.83°
Eccentricity
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Argument of Perigee
40.73°
Period
1452.34 min
Mean Motion
0.99 rev/day
Latitude
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Longitude
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Altitude
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Velocity
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Name
BS-3N
Alternative Name
BS-3N
Type
Status
Owner
NHK
Country
Japan
Constellation
N/A
Related Satellites
Major Events
N/A
1 23176U 94040B 26185.12461177 .00000062 00000-0 00000-0 0 9995
2 23176 13.3948 19.8258 0004073 40.7268 133.3658 0.99150632102471
Source: Celestrak
Length
1.6
Diameter
1.4
Span
15.4
Dry Mass
467
Launch Mass
667
Shape
Box + 2 Pan
Radar Cross Section
15.8489
Visual Magnitude
Unknown
Color
Unknown
Material Composition
Unknown
Payload
BS-3N
Purpose
Communication
Mission
Communication
Manufacturer
MMAS
Life Expectancy
Unknown
Bus
AS3000
Configuration
AS-3000
Motor
TE-M-700-17
Equipment
3 (+3) Ku-band transponders 120W TWTA, 27 MHz bandwidth, EIRP max 54 dBW
Power System
2 deployable solar arrays, batteries
ADCS
Unknown
Transmitter Frequency
Unknown
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