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SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket will deliver 10 satellites to low Earth orbit for Iridium, a global leader in mobile voice and data satellite communications. This is the sixth set of 10 satellites in a series of 75 total satellites that SpaceX will launch for Iridium’s next generation global satellite constellation, Iridium® NEXT. Sharing this launch is the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment Follow-on mission, which is a joint project of NASA and the German Research Centre for Geosciences. It's goal is to track Earth's water movement to monitor changes in underground water storage, the amount of water in large lakes and rivers, soil moisture, ice sheets and glaciers, and sea level caused by the addition of water to the ocean.
Stage Expended
Limiting rule: No flight through a thick (>4500 ft) cloud layer extending across the freezing level.
max-top 5602 m, mean 4025 m, 92% cover, freezing 3564 m · max cloud-top 5602 m above freezing 3564 m (92% cover in 10 nmi) · no GLM flashes within 25 nmi / 30 min, likely cirrus / stratiform ice rather than cumulus · 7.1 ≥ 6 ft significant wave height