Communications
IRIDIUM 103
Global Mobile Satellite Network (Iridium NEXT) · Iridium Communications
Right now
LiveIt moves every second. See exactly where it is — worked out from its orbit, on your own device — on the live 3D globe.
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Part of the Iridium NEXT constellation, one of 66 cross-linked satellites providing truly global satellite phone and data coverage — the only commercial network offering pole-to-pole connectivity, since Iridium's satellites communicate with each other via inter-satellite links rather than requiring a ground station within view. This mesh architecture means a phone call can route through space between multiple satellites before ever touching the ground.
Its orbit
- Orbit
- Low Earth Orbitcan appear as a fast-moving star at dawn or dusk
- Altitude
- 485–487 mi (780–783 km)
- Inclination
- 86.4°
- One orbit
- 100.3 minutes14.4 orbits a day
- NORAD ID
- 41918
- Int’l designator
- 2017-003B
- Launched
- 2017
Orbital elements from CelesTrak, as of 22 Sep 2026.
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