A constellation of communication satellites. The original network launched over 13 missions between 1997 and 1998 and saw 95 Motorola-designed satellites bring reliable and continuous communications services to Earth’s polar regions. In all, 95 of the 98 original Iridium satellites were launched, with 66 in active service and 29 serving as spares. To date, 20 of the original satellites have required replacement: 19 for systems failures, and one—Iridium 33—due to collision with Kosmos 2251 in February 2009. A new fleet, Iridium Next, is already on its way to replacing the old, with 20 of the planned 75 new satellites already in orbit.