Paul Dykewicz and SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell

The best satellite stock to buy is Iridium Communications Inc. (NASDAQ:IRDM), according to the 2018 Baron Funds Investment Conference, which featured the global, mobile services provider.

One of the big appeals of the communications company as the best satellite stock to buy is its $3 billion investment since 2010 to build its Iridium NEXT program to place a new generation of 66 satellites in low-Earth orbit roughly 485 miles, or 780 kilometers, in the sky. Scheduled for completion on Dec. 30, Iridium will enjoy a capital expenditure “holiday” for the next 10 years, said Matt Desch, its CEO.

Iridium NEXT is replacing the company’s original constellation by launching 75 satellites into low-Earth orbit on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket over eight different missions. SpaceX, founded in 2002 by entrepreneur Elon Musk, helped Iridium, of McLean, Virginia, put its new satellites into orbit by launching them with his company’s reusable boosters, which halved the launch costs of Baron’s best satellite stock.

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Paul Dykewicz, www.pauldykewicz.com, is an accomplished, award-winning journalist who has written for Dow Jones, the Wall Street Journal, Investor’s Business Daily, USA Today, the Journal of Commerce,Seeking Alpha, GuruFocus and other publications and websites. Paul is the editor of StockInvestor.com and DividendInvestor.com, a writer for both websites and a columnist. He further is the editorial director of Eagle Financial Publications in Washington, D.C., where he edits monthly investment newsletters, time-sensitive trading alerts, free e-letters and other investment reports. Paul previously served as business editor of Baltimore’s Daily Record newspaper. Paul also is the author of an inspirational book, “Holy Smokes! Golden Guidance from Notre Dame’s Championship Chaplain,” with a foreword by former national championship-winning football coach Lou Holtz.