| Iridium 7 | |
| Mission Type: | Communication |
| Operator: | Iridium Satellite LLC |
| Cospar Id: | 1997-020B |
| Spacecraft Bus: | LM-700A |
| Manufacturer: | Lockheed Martin |
| Launch Rocket: | Delta II 7920-10C |
| Launch Site: | Vandenberg SLC-2W |
| Orbit Reference: | Geocentric |
| Orbit Regime: | Low Earth |
| Apsis: | gee |
Iridium 7 was a U.S. Iridium communications satellite. It was launched into low Earth orbit from Vandenberg Air Force Base at 14:55 GMT on 5 May 1997, by a Delta II 7920-10C carrier rocket.[1] It was operated in Plane 4 of the Iridium satellite constellation, with an ascending node of 262.4°.[1]
It had a partial technical failure in 2009 and was subsequently paired with Iridium 51, and relegated to following it and managing traffic routing.[2]