| Name of Satellite, Alternate Names | Iridium 51 (Iridium SV 051) |
| Country of Operator/Owner | USA |
| Operator/Owner | Iridium Satellite LLC |
| Users | Government/Commercial |
| Purpose | Communications |
| Class of Orbit | LEO |
| Type of Orbit | Polar |
| Longitude of GEO (degrees) | 0 |
| Perigee (km) | 776 |
| Apogee (km) | 779 |
| Eccentricity | 0.000209863588667366 |
| Inclination (degrees) | 86.4 |
| Period (minutes) | 100.4 |
| Launch Mass (kg.) | 689 |
| Dry Mass (kg.) | 556 |
| Power (watts) | 1,400 (EOL) |
| Date of Launch | 25-03-1998 |
| Expected Lifetime | 8 yrs. |
| Contractor | Motorola Satellite Communications Group |
| Country of Contractor | USA |
| Launch Site | Taiyuan Launch Center |
| Launch Vehicle | Long March 2C |
| COSPAR Number | 1998-018A |
| NORAD Number | 25262 |
| Comments | Iridium 51 and Iridium 5 were first confused by OIG. They have been correctly separated. |