Iridium 33

Communications satellite operated by Iridium Communications

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]

## Mission

[edit]

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

[edit]

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

[edit]

Main article: 2009 satellite collision

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

[edit]

* Kessler syndrome

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "Iridium 33 tracking details". Retrieved 2019-02-04.
2. ^ a b Wade, Mark. "Iridium". Encyclopedia Astronautica. Archived from the original on 2009-02-16. Retrieved 2009-02-12.
3. ^ Wade, Mark. "Proton". Encyclopedia Astronautica. Archived from the original on September 13, 2008. Retrieved 2009-02-12.
4. ^ a b "Iridium 33: Display 1997". nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov. NASA. 14 May 2020. Retrieved 5 June 2020. 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. Retrieved 2009-02-11.
6. ^ "2 orbiting satellites collide 500 miles up". Associated Press. 2009-02-11. Archived from the original on February 16, 2009. Retrieved 2009-02-11.
7. ^ "Google Earth KMZ file of the debris". John Burns. 2009-03-05. Retrieved 2010-11-25.
8. ^ "U.S. Space debris environment and operational updates" (PDF). NASA. 2011-02-18. Retrieved 5 June 2020. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
9. ^ "Javascript visualisation of Iridium 33 debris".

* Spaceflight portal

Wikinews has news coverage of the 2009 satellite collision:

* Russian and US satellites collide
* Burning debris from satellites spotted over several US cities

* v
* t
* e

← 1996

Orbital launches in 1997

1998 →

* 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
* Fengyun 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
* VLS-1 V01 (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 underline. Uncatalogued launch failures are listed in italics. Payloads deployed from other spacecraft are denoted in (brackets).
*[no.]: number
*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template