Orbital Sciences Launches Iridium NEXT Production

Categories:

Orbital-Gilbert We were pleased to note that long time PADT customer Orbital Sciences Corporation is starting production of 81 satellites at its Gilbert, Arizona facility.  This new constellation of satellites will replace the existing constellation of Iridium satellites now in low earth orbit.   It is exciting to see this project moving to this next critical step, and we can’t wait to read about the launches in 2015.  We know that many people at Orbital and at their suppliers have been working hard and long to get to this point. 

AZCentral has a nice video of the ribbon cutting

Satnews Daily has a good article with details about the whole project.

And the Wall Street Journal has a more business look on the project in their article

IridiumNEXTSatConfig
You can learn more about the Iridium NEXT project here

All of us tech-oriented people in Arizona should get excited about this major milestone. Although both Orbital Sciences and Iridium are headquartered in Virginia, both have extensive facilities here in Arizona.  In fact the Iridium business operations is about one quarter of a mile from PADT’s Tempe office  in the ASU Research Park. Satellite design, test, manufacturing and support are big business in the state of Arizona.  Some of the other Arizona based companies involved in making or providing equipment for satellites are: ViaSat, Garmin, General Dynamics, Honeywell Aerospace, Lockheed Martin, Paragon Space Development, and many others. Most are PADT customers.  

Congratulations to everyone involved and a big thanks to the people in the state, county, and city that help set up the Free Trade Zone that helped make it possible.

Join PADT and the global Ansys user community for this year’s online conference.

Multiple Tracks | Every Physics & Every Industry

Hear from Ansys Leadership | Presentations from Customers on How They Use Ansys

Get Your Ansys Products & Support from the Engineers who Contribute to this Blog.

Technical Expertise to Enable your Additive Manufacturing Success.

Share this post:

Upcoming Events

Jun 19
, 2025
Digital Engineering for ePowertrain Development for Automotive - Webinar
May 21
, 2025
Optics Updates in Ansys 2025 R1 - Webinar
May 29
, 2025
Applying Digital Engineering across Space Mission Analysis and Design: Payload - Webinar
Jun 03
, 2025
Experience Stratasys Truck Tour - Denver Colorado
Jun 03
, 2025
Accelerate Electronics Thermal Workflows with Ansys Discovery and Ansys Icepak - Webinar
Jun 03
, 2025
Smart Manufacturing and Operations Enabled by Simulation - Webinar
Jun 04
, 2025
Composites & Structural Optimization Updates in Ansys 2025 R1 - Webinar
Jun 05
, 2025
Using Digital Engineering for a Structural, Thermal, and Optical Performance Workflow - Webinar
Jun 09
- Jun 11
, 2025
TechConnect World 2025
Jun 12
, 2025
Design and Test: Critical Links for Mission Success - Webinar
Jun 17
, 2025
Ansys Virtual Workshop - Fatigue & Durability Workflows with Ansys Mechanical & nCode
Jun 18
, 2025
Fluent CPU - UI & UX Updates in Ansys 2025 R1 - Webinar
Jun 16
- Jun 20
, 2025
Turbo Expo
Jun 24
, 2025
Cardiovascular Digital Twins: From Bench to Bedside - Webinar
Jun 25
, 2025
E-Mobility and Clean Energy Summit
Jul 02
, 2025
Electric Machine & Consumer Electronics Updates in Ansys 2025 R1 - Webinar
Jul 11
, 2025
2025 Aerospace, Aviation, Defense and Manufacturing Conference
Jul 16
, 2025
HFSS Updates in Ansys 2025 R1 - Webinar
Jul 16
- Jul 17
, 2025
Ansys Simulation World 2025
Aug 10
- Aug 13
, 2025
SmallSat 2025

Search the PADT Site

Contact Us

Most of our customers receive their support over the phone or via email. Customers who are close by can also set up a face-to-face appointment with one of our engineers.

For most locations, simply contact us: