At the 41st Space Symposium in Colorado Springs, Scott Scheimreif, EVP Government Programs at Iridium Communications, discussed the company’s evolving role in national security and its unexpected connection to Artemis 2.
The best way to kind of describe the Artemis 2 contribution is Iridium has been, a strategic partner with the DOD and the US government, really going back to the late 90s.
It was revealed that the company’s network was utilized to outfit specialized recovery teams. These teams—including Navy Divers from Explosive Ordnance Disposal Group 1 (EODGRU-1) and Air Force recovery units—depended on Iridium’s global constellation for real-time coordination in areas beyond the reach of traditional terrestrial networks.
We supported a program known as Enhanced Mobile Satellite Services. And so through that program, we’ve supported, national security, our warfighters keeping men and women wearing the uniform safe. But more recently over the last probably seven, eight years, we’ve gotten more involved in more of the operations, what I call national security missions. So it’s really gone the full gamut from tactical comms to more strategic comms.
The announcement highlights Iridium’s strategic pivot from being a legacy satellite provider to a core technology partner for both civil exploration and national security. The company is leveraging its unique cross-linked architecture to provide a hidden layer of redundancy that traditional geostationary systems cannot match.
An Artemis II Safety Backbone
For critical command, control, and astronaut safety, the mission relied on Iridium’s L-band frequency. This spectrum is highly resilient to atmospheric interference and provided a global, low-latency connection that was vital for the mission’s contingency comms profile.
Iridium’s technology was also instrumental during the Orion’s splashdown preparations. The network provided the primary tracking and recovery data used by the U.S. Navy and NASA recovery teams to locate the capsule in the Pacific Ocean, ensuring that the first humans to return from the lunar vicinity in over 50 years were retrieved quickly and safely.
Somewear Labs, an Iridium Value-Added Manufacturer, using the Iridium Certus® network software platform and Iridium-connected hardware (such as the Global Hotspot) allowed recovery teams to maintain 100% global coverage, reliable situational awareness, and two-way messaging when operating in remote ocean areas, ensuring secure and efficient communication with command centers.
The Somewear Labs Global Hotspot utilized the Iridium network to ensure uninterrupted comms and situational awareness in the most austere environments.
Beyond the Artemis program, Iridium showcased its latest chip-level technology at the symposium: Iridium NTN Direct. This service represents the first truly global, standards-based non-terrestrial network (NTN) capability. By embedding Iridium’s connectivity directly into consumer device processors, the company is bypassing the need for bulky external antennas.
Iridium NTN Direct is a groundbreaking, standards-based Non-Terrestrial Network (NTN) service that enables 3GPP-compliant Narrowband IoT (NB-IoT) and Direct-to-Device (D2D) communication directly from Iridium’s 66-satellite Low-Earth Orbit (LEO) constellation. It is designed to allow standard chipsets to roam directly on Iridium’s network, enabling global connectivity for consumer electronics, automotive, and industrial IoT devices without needing specialized satellite hardware.
Authenticating the Space Economy
Looking ahead, Iridium is positioning its PNT signal as a foundational layer for identity management. By providing a quantum-safe timestamp and location lock, Iridium aims to secure high-value transactions and mission-critical data flows.
