Iridium 33

A mockup of an Iridium satellite

Mission type| Communication
Operator| Iridium Satellite LLC
COSPAR ID| 1997-051C
SATCAT no.| 24946
Mission duration| 11 years
Spacecraft properties
Bus| LM-700A
Manufacturer| Lockheed Martin
Launch mass| 700 kg
Start of mission
Launch date| 14 September 1997, 01:36 UTC
Rocket| Proton-K / DM2
Launch site| Baikonur, Site 81/23
Contractor| Khrunichev
via International Launch Services
End of mission
Destroyed| 10 February 2009, 16:56 UTC
Collision with Kosmos 2251
Orbital parameters
Reference system| Geocentric
Regime| Low Earth
Perigee altitude| 779.6 km [1]
Apogee altitude| 799.9 km
Inclination| 86.4°
Period| 100.4 minutes
Epoch| 10 February 2009

Iridium 33 was a communications satellite launched by Russia for Iridium Communications. It was launched into low Earth orbit from Site 81/23 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome at 01:36 UTC on 14 September 1997, by a Proton-K rocket with a Block DM2 upper stage.[2][3] The launch was arranged by International Launch Services (ILS). It was operated in Plane 3 of the Iridium satellite constellation, with an ascending node of 230.9°.[2]

## Contents

* 1 Mission
* 2 Spacecraft
* 3 Destruction
* 4 See also
* 5 References

## Mission

Iridium 33 was part of a commercial communications network consisting of a constellation of 66 LEO spacecraft. The system uses L-Band to provide global communications services through portable handsets. Commercial service began in 1998. The system employs ground stations with a master control complex in Landsdowne, Virginia, a backup in Italy, and a third engineering center in Chandler, Arizona.[4]

## Spacecraft

The spacecraft was 3-axis stabilized, with a hydrazine propulsion system. It had 2 solar panels with 1-axis articulation. The system employed L-Band using FDMA/TDMA to provide voice at 4.8 kbps and data at 2400 bps with a 16 dB margin. Each satellite had 48 spot beams for Earth coverage and used Ka-Band for crosslinks and ground commanding.[4]

## Destruction

On 10 February 2009, at 16:56 UTC, at about 800 km altitude, Kosmos 2251 (1993-036A) (a derelict Strela satellite) and Iridium 33 collided, resulting in the destruction of both spacecraft.[5] NASA reported that a large amount of space debris was produced by the collision, i.e. 1347 debris for Kosmos 2251 and 528 for Iridium 33.[6][7][8][9]

## See also

* Kessler syndrome

## References

1. ↑ "Iridium 33 tracking details". https://www.n2yo.com/satellite/?s=24946.
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Wade, Mark. "Iridium". Encyclopedia Astronautica. http://www.astronautix.com/project/iridium.htm.
3. ↑ Wade, Mark. "Proton". Encyclopedia Astronautica. http://www.astronautix.com/lvs/proton.htm.
4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 "Iridium 33: Display 1997". NASA. 14 May 2020. https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraft/display.action?id=1997-051C. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
5. ↑ Iannotta, Becky (2009-02-11). "U.S. Satellite Destroyed in Space Collision". Space.com. http://www.space.com/news/090211-satellite-collision.html.
6. ↑ "2 orbiting satellites collide 500 miles up". Associated Press. 2009-02-11. https://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5grGfFhzFgjxK46MQHTwD1RgRUwCAD969LB802.
7. ↑ "Google Earth KMZ file of the debris". John Burns. 2009-03-05. http://www.john.geek.nz/2009/03/satellite-collision-google-earth-kmz-file/.
8. ↑ "U.S. Space debris environment and operational updates". NASA. 2011-02-18. http://www.oosa.unvienna.org/pdf/pres/stsc2011/tech-31.pdf. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
9. ↑ "Javascript visualisation of Iridium 33 debris". http://stuffin.space/?search=1997-051.

* v
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Orbital launches in 1997

STS-81 | GPS IIR-1 | GE 2 * Nahuel 1A | Soyuz TM-25 | STS-82 | Haruka | Kosmos 2337 * Kosmos 2338 * Kosmos 2339 * Gonets-D1 #4 * Gonets-D1 #5 * Gonets-D1 #6 | JCSAT-R | USA-130 | Intelsat 801 | Mozhayets 2 | Tempo-2 | STS-83 | USA-131 | Progress M-34 | Kosmos 2340 | Thaicom 3 * BSAT-1a | Kosmos 2341 | Minisat 01 * Founders | GOES 10 | Iridium 4 * Iridium 5 * Iridium 6 * Iridium 7 * Iridium 8 | Chinasat 6A | Kosmos 2342 | STS-84 | Kosmos 2343 | Tselina-2 | Thor 2 | Telstar 5 | Inmarsat-3 F4 * INSAT-2D | Kosmos 2344 | Feng Yun 2A | Iridium 9 * Iridium 10 * Iridium 11 * Iridium 12 * Iridium 13 * Iridium 14 * Iridium 16 | Intelsat 802 | STS-94 | Progress M-35 | Iridium 15 * Iridium 17 * Iridium 18 * Iridium 20 * Iridium 21 | USA-132 | Superbird-C | OrbView-2 | Soyuz TM-26 | STS-85 (CRISTA-SPAS) | PAS-6 | Kosmos 2345 | Agila 2 | Iridium 22 * Iridium 23 * Iridium 24 * Iridium 25 * Iridium 26 | Lewis | ACE | PAS-5 | FORTE | Iridium MFS-1 * Iridium MFS-2 | Hot Bird 3 * Meteosat 7 | GE-3 | Iridium 27 * Iridium 28 * Iridium 29 * Iridium 30 * Iridium 31 * Iridium 32 * Iridium 33 | Kosmos 2346 * FAISAT-2V | Intelsat 803 | Molniya-1T #98 | STS-86 | Iridium 19 * Iridium 34 * Iridium 35 * Iridium 36 * Iridium 37 | IRS-1D | Progress M-36 (Sputnik 40 * X-Mir) | EchoStar III | Foton #11 | Cassini (Huygens) | Apstar 2R | USA-133 | STEP-4 | USA-135 * FalconGOLD | Maqsat-B * Maqsat-H * YES | SCD-2A | USA-134 | USA-136 | Iridium 38 * Iridium 39 * Iridium 40 * Iridium 41 * Iridium 43 | Kupon | Sirius 2 * IndoStar-1 | Resurs-F1M #1 | STS-87 (SPARTAN-201) | TRMM * Orihime * Hikoboshi | JCSAT-1B * Equator-S | Astra 1G | Iridium 42 * Iridium 44 | Galaxy 8i | Kosmos 2347 | Kosmos 2348 | Progress M-37 | Iridium 45 * Iridium 46 * Iridium 47 * Iridium 48 * Iridium 49 | Intelsat 804 | Orbcomm FM5 * Orbcomm FM6 * Orbcomm FM7 * Orbcomm FM8 * Orbcomm FM9 * Orbcomm FM10 * Orbcomm FM11 * Orbcomm FM12 | Early Bird 1 | AsiaSat 3

Payloads are separated by bullets ( * ), launches by pipes ( | ). Crewed flights are indicated in bold text. Uncatalogued launch failures are listed in italics. Payloads deployed from other spacecraft are denoted in brackets.

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