Iridium Communications is a U.S.-based satellite operator headquartered in McLean, Virginia, best known for its unique low Earth orbit (LEO) constellation of 66 cross-linked satellites. Unlike geostationary systems, Iridium’s network enables truly global coverage, including remote oceans, polar regions, and other hard-to-reach areas where terrestrial or GEO-based services often fall short. The company provides a wide range of services, including voice, data, push-to-talk, and IoT connectivity, with a strong emphasis on mission-critical and safety-of-life communications. Its customers span industries such as aviation, maritime, land-mobile, utilities, emergency services, and defense, with Iridium often serving as a lifeline in remote or hostile environments. The Iridium NEXT program, completed in 2019, modernized its entire satellite constellation and enabled new broadband and IoT capabilities. With its resilient architecture and focus on reliable global service, Iridium has established itself as a leader in satellite communications for critical operations where coverage and reliability are non-negotiable.

SDA Awards $491.6M GMI Contract to General Dynamics Mission Systems and Iridium
The Space Development Agency (SDA) has awarded General Dynamics Mission Systems (GDMS) and Iridium a $491.6 million contract to support the Ground Management and Integration (GMI) program for the Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture (PWSA). Under this agreement, Iridium will receive $239 million over the span of five years. This award Builds on the 2022 Operations and Integration contract, which tasked the companies with developing ground entry points, establishing operation centers, and managing network operations and system integration services. The new contract will further enhance SDA's capabilies to integrate and operate its expanding space architecture.

USSF's COMSO Awards $94M ECS3 Contract to Iridium
United States Space Force's Space Systems Command (COMSO) awards $94 million, five-year contract to Iridium for Enhanced Mobile Satellite Services (EMSS) capabilities and security sustainment services (ECS3). The ECS3 contract will support Iridium's EMSS program by ensuring operations continue at the EMSS Service Center that supports critical U.S. government applications.

USSF Awards Five-Year Contract for Iridium Certus Services
United States Space Force has awarded a five-year Indefinite Delivery, Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contract to Iridium. This contract includes Iridium Certus terminals, broadband and midband services that are important for Join All Domain Command and Control's (JADC2). To support Primary, Alternate, Contingency, and Emergency (PACE) communications architecture, ensuring resilient, secure, and globally available connectivity for the United States defense operations.
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Iridium Awarded 7-Year, $738.5 Million Contract by the U.S. Department of Defense
The Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) awarded Iridium with a seven-year $738.5 million airtime services contract to continue the EMSS program through 2026. The new ECS3 contract will further the support the infrastructure  for EMSS through 2029.  

Iridium Awarded $30M R&D Contract by U.S. Army
The United States Army has awarded a $30 million research and development contract to create a payload for small satellites that will enhance nagivation, guidance, and control systems for both GPS-enabled and GPS-denied environments. The payload is inteded to support the concept of a rapidly deployable smallsat constellation, enabling faster and more effective sensor-to-soilder data transmission in the field.
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Iridium NEXT:
Announced in 2007 Iridium's NEXT has completely replaced the company's original network with its new advanced satellite constellation. Built by Thales Alenia Space, the system contains 81 satellites with 66 in active service, nine in-orbit spares, and six spares on the ground. each satellite is crosslink with two others in the same orbital plane and one in each adjacent orbital plane. This allows for Iridium to offer faster Broadband services.

Iridium Certus:
Is Iridium's advanced L-band satellite service that provides voice, messaging, tracking, and data coverage for ships, vehicles, aircraft and IoT devices. Certus provides global coverage without the need for local ground relay infrastructure for reliable services in the harshest and most remote environments. Iridium Certus Provides weather resilient connectivity from 22 kbps for low data applications to 704 kbps for high performance broadband services. Designed to meet diverse customer needs, Iridium Certus offers a range of device options and service plans such as:

Iridium Certus 20 - 22 kbps
iridium Certus 100 - 88 kbps
Iridium Certus 200 - 176 kbps
Iridium Certus 350 - 352 kbps
Iridium Certus 700 - 704 kbps
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Global Maritime Distress & Safety System (GMDSS): 
Allows mariners to send a distress alert at terminals that are equipped with GMDSS to transmit precise location and identification details to Rescue Coordination Centre (RCC) and includes built-in safety voice capabilities for crew members to speak directly with an RCC operator within 30 seconds. While Iridium SafetyCast proactively delivers navigational and meterological information to warn of potential hazards and support safety measures.
Iridium regularly conducts join exercises with the International Mobile Satellite Organization (IMSO) to ensure the reliability and effectiveness of its GMDSS services. Additional features include Distress Alert Relay, short-to-ship distress calling, maritime assistance, standard maritime calling, and messaging to provide a globally available safety communications solution.

Enhanced Mobile Satellite Service (EMSS):
A secure, unlimited voice and narrowband data service provided under a multi-year contract between Iridium and the United States Space Force. Supporting an unlimited number of subscribers, EMSS includes satellite phones, messaging devices, and remote sensors, with all network traffic routed entirely in space to a DoD-owned and operated gateway to eliminate roaming and enhance operational security. EMSS devices offer a wide range of mission critical capabilities including: 

L-band resiliency for Joint All-Domain Command and Control (JADC2),
full support for Primary, Alternate, Contingency, and Emergency (PACE) communications planning,
reliable on-the-move voice, data, and video.
Global Line Of Sight (GLOS),
Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS),
Over-the-Horzon (OTH) communications,
Weather-resilient, pole-to-pole connectivity.
Global Push-To-Talk (PTT),
Early-entry communications,
Blue Force Tracking (BFT),
In-Transit Visibility (ITV),
Iridium Companion as part of Satellite as a Managed Service (SaaMS)
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