Roughly 80% of Iridium Communications Inc.’s 1990s-vintage satellites are operating without in-orbit spares, further raising the stakes for launching replacements on a Space Exploration Technologies Corp. Falcon 9 rocket slated for the fall. With two of its remaining 66 core satellites out of operation after nearly two decades -- and a single backup satellite available for only a small portion of the restricted constellation -- the...

Source: Wall Street Journal August 23, 2016 14:15 UTC