Seeing a SpaceX launch first hand is one of the most miraculous experiences I’ve had in my lifetime. I had the privilege of attending the 4th Iridium NEXT launch on December 22nd, 2017, which created quite the buzz on the internet.
Twelve days after the delivery of 10 brand new Iridium NEXT satellites to low-earth-orbit, aimed at replacing the legacy “Block 1” satellites, Aireon was able to validate that the ADS-B payloads survived the launch. The initial operational tests conducted were planned to command the payloads power-on and verify that self-test parameters were successfully communicated through the on-board processor and space-to-earth communications link.
