 In January 2017, Iridium began launch next-generation satellites through its $3 billion launch campaign, Iridium NEXT.The new satellites were sent into space on SpaceX Falcon 9 launch vehicles from Vandenberg AFB Space Launch Complex 4 in California over the course of eight launches between January 2017 and January 2019.On January 14, 2017, SpaceX launched 10 of the new Iridium satellites into orbit.