$250,000 Endowment to Support Aerospace
Education Iridium, Thales Alenia Space, SpaceX,
Orbital, Lockheed Martin, Boeing and SEAKR Anchor Initiative to
Inspire and Support Next Generation of Innovators
Iridium Communications Inc. (Nasdaq:IRDM) announces the launch of
the Iridium NEXT Mission Team Scholarship program. The endowment is
a multi-year commitment by Iridium NEXT partner companies to
support the development of innovative young aerospace
engineers. The company unveiled the program at an Iridium NEXT
Mission Team partner event on March 14 in conjunction with
SATELLITE 2012 in Washington, D.C. Thales Alenia Space,
SpaceX, Orbital Sciences Corp., Lockheed Martin, Boeing and SEAKR,
along with Iridium, have already committed almost half of the
anticipated $250,000 endowment, and corporate participation is
expected amongst the 30 Iridium NEXT Mission Team members. The
scholarship program will be administered by the American Institute
of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) Foundation, and will begin
distributing awards to undergraduate students for the 2012-13
academic year.
The Iridium NEXT Mission Team Program will award scholarships
annually to the best and brightest aerospace engineering students
in the world, including those already engaged in the development of
Iridium NEXT through Iridium or partner internships. Each year,
scholarship recipients will form the Iridium NEXT Class of
Scholars.
Iridium NEXT, the company's next generation satellite
constellation and the world's most significant commercial space
program, is in development and scheduled to begin launching in
2015.
"As a leader in developing innovative solutions and encouraging
an open and collaborative platform for product development, Iridium
is proud to begin a new legacy of innovation by finding and
rewarding the world's most promising aerospace engineers," said
Scott Smith, executive vice president, Iridium NEXT. "The
Iridium NEXT Mission Team is an unmatched group of aerospace
leaders from around the world whose commitment to creating and
launching the most cutting edge satellite constellation will not
only improve the Iridium network, it will have a lasting
impact on the global communications infrastructure as a whole.
There is no better way to revolutionize the future of the aerospace
industry than by encouraging and enabling the academic pursuit of
the world's budding engineers."
The first Iridium NEXT Class of Scholars, as with the years
ahead, will be selected by a designated committee of AIAA
Foundation education committee members based on a set of academic
and objective criteria. The AIAA Foundation fosters growth and
ignites interest in science and technology through STEM K-12
education programs, prepares students for the workforce with
scholarships, and hosts student conferences, among other
initiatives.
"The Iridium NEXT Mission Team Scholarship program will be one
of the most significant educational opportunities anywhere in the
aerospace industry," said AIAA Foundation president Bob Dickman.
"Not only will the contributions of these leading innovators help
to support students everywhere, the program is a great
complement to the AIAA Foundation's ongoing commitment to investing
in the future of the aerospace profession. Together we will make a
lasting and positive impact on the future of our industry and
beyond."
About Iridium Communications Inc.
Iridium is the only mobile voice and data satellite
communications network that spans the entire globe. Iridium
enables connections between people, organizations and assets to and
from anywhere, in real time. Together with its ever-expanding
ecosystem of partner companies, Iridium delivers an innovative and
rich portfolio of reliable solutions for markets that require truly
global communications. The company has a major development
program underway for its next-generation network – Iridium
NEXT. Iridium Communications Inc. is headquartered in McLean,
Va., U.S.A., and its common stock trades on the NASDAQ Global
Select Market under the ticker symbol IRDM. For more
information about Iridium products, services and partner solutions,
visit www.iridium.com.
The Iridium Communications Inc. logo is available at
http://www.globenewswire.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=10426
About Thales Alenia Space
The European leader in satellite systems and a major player in
orbital infrastructures, Thales Alenia Space is a joint venture
between Thales (67%) and Finmeccanica (33%). Thales Alenia Space
and Telespazio embody the two groups' "Space Alliance."
Thales Alenia Space sets the global standard in solutions for
space telecommunications, radar and optical Earth observation,
defense and security, navigation and science. With
consolidated revenues of 2,1 billion euros in 2011, Thales Alenia
Space has 7,200 employees at 10 industrial sites in France, Italy,
Spain, Germany and Belgium. For more information, go to
www.thalesaleniaspace.com.
About SpaceX
SpaceX designs, manufactures and launches the world's most
advanced rockets and spacecraft. With a diverse manifest of
launches to deliver commercial and government satellites to orbit,
SpaceX is the world's fastest growing space launch company. In
2010, SpaceX became the first commercial company in history to put
a spacecraft into orbit and return it safely to Earth. With
the retirement of the space shuttle, the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and
Dragon spacecraft will soon carry cargo, and one day astronauts, to
and from the Space Station for NASA. Founded in 2002 by Elon
Musk, SpaceX is a private company owned by management and
employees, with minority investments from Founders Fund, Draper
Fisher Jurvetson, and Valor Equity Partners. The company has over
1,600 employees in California, Texas, Washington, D.C., and
Florida. For more information, visit www.SpaceX.com.
About Orbital Sciences Corp.
Orbital develops and manufactures small- and medium-class
rockets and space systems for commercial, military and civil
government customers. The company's primary products are satellites
and launch vehicles, including low-Earth orbit,
geosynchronous-Earth orbit and planetary exploration spacecraft for
communications, remote sensing, scientific and defense missions;
human-rated space systems for Earth-orbit, lunar and other
missions; ground- and air-launched rockets that deliver satellites
into orbit; and missile defense systems that are used as
interceptor and target vehicles. Orbital also provides satellite
subsystems and space-related technical services to U.S. Government
agencies and laboratories. More information about Orbital can
be found at http://www.orbital.com.
About Lockheed Martin
Headquartered in Bethesda, Md., Lockheed Martin is a global
security and aerospace company that employs about 123,000 people
worldwide and is principally engaged in the research, design,
development, manufacture, integration and sustainment of advanced
technology systems, products and services. The Corporation's net
sales for 2011 were $46.5 billion.
About Boeing
A unit of The Boeing Company, Boeing Defense, Space &
Security is one of the world's largest defense, space and
security businesses specializing in innovative and
capabilities-driven customer solutions, and the world's largest and
most versatile manufacturer of military aircraft. Headquartered in
St. Louis, Boeing Defense, Space & Security is a $32 billion
business with 62,000 employees worldwide. Follow us on
Twitter: @BoeingDefense.
About SEAKR
SEAKR Engineering (www.SEAKR.com) is a world-leading provider of
advanced state-of-the-art electronic avionics for space
applications. Since its inception in 1982, SEAKR has delivered some
of the most sophisticated solutions in the industry on-time and
on-budget. More than ninety of these units have launched with all
having met or exceeded mission objectives. SEAKR's leading edge
space avionics include IP routers as well as software-defined
radios, high-performance payload processors, modular spacecraft
avionics, and solid state recorders.
The AIAA Foundation
The AIAA Foundation, the education division of the American
Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) ignites interest
in science and technology through STEM K-12 education programs,
prepares students for the workforce with scholarships and student
conferences, promotes professional achievement via our Honors and
Awards Programs for industry professionals and educators, and
fosters innovation through competitions that push the envelope of
current technologies.
CONTACT: Press Contacts:
Liz DeCastro
Iridium Communications Inc.
+1 (703) 287-7421
liz.decastro@iridium.com
Jane Carney
FTI Consulting
+1 (312) 861-4712
jane.carney@fticonsulting.com
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