The launch will occur from Vandenberg's Space Launch Complex 2. The five-second launch window will open at 8:12:15 a.m. PDT.

The IRIDIUM system is designed to be a constellation of 66 satellites in low-Earth orbit. They will provide a satellite-based wireless personal communications network permitting any type of telephone transmission including voice, data, fax and paging to reach its destination virtually anywhere on Earth, anytime. Worldwide commercial service availability is planned for late 1998, when the entire network is scheduled to be operational.

"The McDonnell Douglas team is looking forward to getting the first five of the IRIDIUM satellites into orbit as a major step forward for world communications," said Jay Witzling, division director, Delta II and Titan programs for McDonnell Douglas.

"We're very enthusiastic about our role in deploying the constellation and our relationships with Iridium LLC and Motorola," Witzling said.

McDonnell Douglas signed a contract with Motorola in 1994 for eight Delta II launches through the year 1998. In December 1995, the companies signed a separate, but related operations and maintenance contract for five additional Delta II launches scheduled between April 1998 and June 2001. Each satellite is designed to be functional for five to eight years.

The Delta II rocket is manufactured by McDonnell Douglas in Huntington Beach, Calif., and assembled in Pueblo, Colo.

The IRIDIUM system is owned by Iridium LLC, an international consortium of 17 investor organizations representing telecommunications and industrial companies worldwide, with Motorola Satellite Communications Group serving as the prime contractor. IRIDIUM is a registered trademark and service mark of Iridium LLC.