Long March Lofts Two Iridium Sats

Washington DC - May 2, 1998 - Todayï¿½s successful launch of two more Iridium satellites on board a China Long March brings the constellation to near full deployment. The two satellites were launched on a Chinese Long March 2C/SD rocket from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center in China. This was the fourteenth successful launch for Iridium in the last 11 months.

The two satellites are part of Iridium LLCï¿½s 66-satellite global wireless personal communications network which is designed to offer voice, data, fax and paging services with a handheld telephone and pager.

ï¿½Todayï¿½s success of the China Long March rocket is an important milestone that brings Iridium within five months of introducing the first global wireless telephone service,ï¿½ said Edward F. Staiano, Iridium LLC Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer.

ï¿½Four successful launches from three countries in six weeks is an impressive testament to one of the most ambitious launch campaigns ever in the space industry,ï¿½ said Motorola Chief Executive Officer Christopher Galvin. ï¿½Motorola is proud of our accomplishments of making a dream from a decade ago become a reality today, and congratulates China Great Wall for their successful launch.ï¿½

The Long March 2C/SD rocket lifted off the launch pad at 5:16 a.m. EDT. Satellite separation occurred approximately 50 minutes after liftoff. The two satellites will be maneuvered into their respective positions to become part of the operational constellation.

Dragon In Space

Iridium

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