SpaceX on Friday launched a Falcon 9 rocket carrying 10 satellites for Iridium Communications from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California. The satellites were deployed into low Earth orbit about an hour after liftoff. The 10 new satellites will replace Iridium's entire global satellite network. The 3-billion-US-dollar project is scheduled for completion in 2018, with a total of 75 new satellites launched into orbit.