While already developing the Iridium Certus-based FlytLINK terminal and antenna, Thales will now be able to offer both Iridium Certus terminals and Iridium Certus connectivity services to business jets, commercial aircraft, rotorcraft, general aviation and UAVs.”As the aviation industry continues to adopt satcom as a primary means of long-range communications, reliable and cost-effective systems with truly global coverage are becoming an increasing necessity,” said Michael Hooper, director and general manager of aviation, Iridium. “The Iridium Certus platform will provide the only solutions that meet the coverage, cost and capability requirements for this new generation of aircraft communications, and we’re excited to further expand our close partnership with Thales to bring these capabilities to market.”IMOCA has also chosen Thales as its partner and sole provider of Iridium Certus L-band broadband equipment and will equip the IMOCA racing fleet with their VesseLINK connectivity solution.This new venture, known as Iridium, would supply telephone service to the entire planet using a private network of satellites.With more than 30 global service providers and six Value Added Manufacturers producing terminals for a combination of maritime, land-mobile and aviation markets, Iridium Certus continues to see growing adoption at a global level.”By partnering with Iridium Technology, Rippe & Kingston is enabling our existing and future clients to raise the level of their firm’s performance,” said Tom Obermaier, CEO of Rippe & Kingston.Dubbed Iridium NEXT, the second-generation satellite network aims to offer improved satellite-based internet and phone services as well as marine and air traffic monitoring.Iridium’s new satellite constellation, dubbed Iridium NEXT, is almost complete.The Iridium Certus service features high-quality voice calling and low latency IP data with speeds debuting at 352 Kbps, and upgradable to 704 Kbps download speeds with a future firmware release.People in Taoyuan City, northern Taiwan could see unusually-bright flashes of light from the Iridium communications satellite on Sunday evening, according to the Taipei Astronomical Museum.Los Angeles: SpaceX on Friday blasted off a re-used Falcon 9 rocket carrying 10 satellites into orbit, its fourth launch toward a $3 billion upgrade to Virginia-based Iridium’s mobile, voice and data network.

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