A company whose satellites help connect people across the globe is looking to expand its footprint in Tysons.
After more than a decade at 1775 Tysons Blvd, Iridium Communications will move its corporate headquarters to the west side of Tysons Galleria, investing $13 million to build out a 55,000-square-foot space at 1676 International Drive.
Roughly 20,000 square feet larger than its current base, the new headquarters is currently under construction and on track to be ready for occupancy in March 2026, Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin and the Fairfax County Economic Development Authority (FCEDA) announced.
“Iridium’s decision to expand its headquarters in Fairfax County is a clear signal that Virginia remains the destination of choice for global technology companies,” Youngkin said in a press release. “The proximity and access to top-tier talent, world-class infrastructure and federal partners offers a strategic advantage to companies like Iridium that are redefining innovation and connectivity.”
According to Iridium, the headquarters expansion will support an additional 117 jobs, expanding its Virginia workforce to nearly 400 people. The company currently has 271 employees in the state, including 126 people based in Tysons.
Located across the street from Tysons Galleria, the 13-floor office building at 1676 International Drive also hosts the headquarters of Guidehouse, a management consulting firm.
Iridium got its start in 1987 when a trio of Motorola engineers in Chandler, Arizona, conceived of the idea to create the first-ever global satellite communications network. Motorola spun off Iridium Inc. as a separate entity in 1991, and the new company launched its first satellites from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California in 1997.
Iridium rolled out commercial service in 1998, starting with a ceremonial first call between then-Vice President Al Gore and National Geographic Society Chairman Gilbert Grosvenor, the great-grandson of telephone inventor Alexander Graham Bell. However, the company filed for bankruptcy less than a year later after struggling to expand its infrastructure fast enough to compete with lower-cost cell phones.
The company was ultimately saved through a bankruptcy court-approved acquisition and a $72 million contract from the U.S. Department of Defense, which secured 24 months of “unlimited airtime” on Iridium’s satellite network for 20,000 government users, according to Iridium’s website.
Iridium later merged with GHL Acquisition Corp. in November 2007 and went public in February 2008. Around that time, the company decide to move its headquarters from Montgomery County, Maryland, to Tysons so it could be in the “heart of the high-tech corridor,” CEO Matt Desch told the FCEDA in an January 2024 interview after the company celebrated its 25th anniversary the previous November.
In a press release on the newly announced expansion, Desch says Iridium remains proud to call Fairfax County its home.
“Being based in such a centralized location just outside of our nation’s capital has many business-friendly benefits, from a corporate-friendly operating environment and convenience of two nearby major airports, to top institutions of higher education, a strong technology-focused industry presence and an excellent local talent pipeline,” he said.
To entice Iridium to remain in Fairfax County, the economic development authority worked with the Virginia Economic Development Partnership to secure a $400,000 grant from the Commonwealth’s Opportunity Fund, approved by Youngkin. The state will also support the company’s recruitment and training activities with funds and services through the Virginia Jobs Investment Program (VJIP).
“Iridium’s continued growth is not just a win for our community, it is a defining moment for the future of our region’s growing space economy,” FCEDA President and CEO Victor Hoskins said. “This is where visionary companies come to scale because we don’t just support big ideas and innovation, we accelerate them.”
Iridium’s expansion plans are a bright spot in Fairfax County’s otherwise uncertain economic climate, as federal workforce and funding cuts raise concerns about a potential recession. Unemployment has ticked up — both from federal government firings and layoffs by affected contractors — and recent home sales data show signs of an impending slowdown in the housing market.
Forecasts shared by the FCEDA with the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors in early April predicted that the Trump administration’s gutting of the federal government could have a more significant impact on the D.C. region’s economy than the COVID-19 pandemic did just a few years ago.
