Iridium and Boeing Prepare for Iridium NEXT Era

Under the agreement, Iridium is expected to hire the majority of the Boeing team that currently supports Iridium by performing operations and maintenance on Iridium's satellites, beginning January 3, 2017. In addition, Iridium will enter into a separate development services contract with Boeing. This change comes as Iridium NEXT, the Company's next-generation satellite constellation, nears its first launch and the start of the transition to a new Iridium® satellite constellation.

We must be getting really close to that first launch.