Exhibit 10.48



 Exhibit 10.48 
 IRIDIUM COMMUNICATIONS INC. 

2009 STOCK INCENTIVE PLAN 

RESTRICTED STOCK UNIT GRANT NOTICE 

Iridium Communications Inc. (the “Company”), pursuant to its 2009 Stock Incentive Plan (the “Plan”),
hereby awards to Participant the Other Stock-Based Award set forth below (the “Award”). The Award is a restricted stock unit award, covering the number of “Units” set forth below, with each Unit representing the
right to be issued on a future date one Share for each Unit that ultimately vests (subject to adjustment as provided in Section 9 of the Plan). This Award is subject to all of the terms and conditions as set forth herein and in the Restricted
Stock Unit Agreement (the “Award Agreement”) and the Plan, both of which are attached hereto and incorporated herein in their entirety. Unless otherwise defined herein, capitalized terms will have the meanings set forth in
the Plan. 
  

			
	Participant:	 	  

	Date of Grant:	 	  

	Vesting Commencement Date:	 	  

	Number of Units Subject to the Award:	 	  


 Vesting Schedule: Subject to the Participant’s continued Employment on each vesting date, the Award will vest
as to 25% of the Shares (rounded down to the nearest whole Share) on the first anniversary of the Vesting Commencement Date, with the balance vesting as to 1/16th of the Shares (rounded down to the nearest whole Share, except for the last vesting
installment) every three months thereafter. Each installment that vests hereunder is a “separate payment” for purposes of Treasury Regulation Section 1.409A-2(b)(2). 
 Additional Terms/Acknowledgements: The Participant acknowledges receipt of, and understands and agrees to, this Restricted Stock Unit Grant Notice, the Award Agreement, the Plan and the related
Plan prospectus. The Participant further acknowledges that as of the Date of Grant, this Restricted Stock Unit Grant Notice, the Award Agreement and the Plan set forth the entire understanding between the Participant and the Company regarding the
Award and supersede all prior oral and written agreements on the terms of the Award, with the exception, if applicable, of (i) the written employment agreement between the Company and the Participant specifying the terms that should govern this
Award and (ii) the Company’s Stock Ownership Guidelines. By accepting this Award, the Participant consents to receive all related documents by electronic delivery and to participate in the Plan through an online or electronic system
established and maintained by the Company or another third party designated by the Company. 
  

							
	IRIDIUM COMMUNICATIONS INC.	 		 	PARTICIPANT
				
	By:	 	  
	 		 	  

	[                            
            ]	 		 	
	Chief Executive Officer	 		 	


  
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 IRIDIUM COMMUNICATIONS INC. 

2009 STOCK INCENTIVE PLAN 

RESTRICTED STOCK UNIT AGREEMENT 

Pursuant to the Restricted Stock Unit Grant Notice (“Grant Notice”) and this Restricted Stock Unit Agreement (the
“Award Agreement”), Iridium Communications Inc. (the “Company”) has awarded you, pursuant to its 2009 Stock Incentive Plan (the “Plan”), the Award (which is a “restricted
stock unit award”) as indicated in the Grant Notice. Unless otherwise defined herein or in the Grant Notice, capitalized terms will have the meanings set forth in the Plan, as applicable. In the event of any conflict between the terms in this
Award Agreement and the Plan, the terms of the Plan will control. 
 The details of your Award, in addition to those set forth
in the Grant Notice and the Plan, are as follows. 
 1. GRANT OF THE
AWARD. This Award represents restricted stock units (“Units”). Each Unit represents the right to be issued on a future date one Share for each Unit that ultimately vests. 

2. VESTING. Your Units will vest as provided in the Grant Notice. Vesting will cease upon the termination of your
Employment. Your right to be issued any Shares under the Units that have not yet vested will be forfeited on the termination of your Employment. 
 3. ADJUSTMENT TO NUMBER OF UNITS AND SHARES SUBJECT TO
AWARD.  
 (a) The Units subject to your Award will be adjusted as provided in Section 9 the
Plan. 
 (b) Any additional Units and any Shares, cash or other property that become subject to the Award pursuant to
this Section 3 will be subject, in a manner determined by the Board, to the same forfeiture restrictions, restrictions on transferability, and time and manner of delivery as applicable to the other Units and Shares underlying your Award.

 (c) No fractional Shares or rights for fractional Shares will be created pursuant to this Section 3. Any fraction
of a Share will be rounded down to the nearest whole Share. 
 4. SECURITIES LAW
COMPLIANCE. You will not be issued any Shares underlying the Units unless either (i) the Shares are registered under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), or (ii) the
Company has determined that such issuance would be exempt from such registration requirements. Your Award also must comply with other applicable laws and regulations governing the Award, and you will not receive Shares underlying your Units if the
Company determines that such receipt would not be in material compliance with such laws and regulations. 
 5.
TRANSFERABILITY. Prior to the time that Shares have been delivered to you, you may not transfer, pledge, sell or otherwise dispose of any portion of or any interest in the Units or the Shares underlying your Units. For example,
you may not use Shares that may subsequently be issued in respect of your Units as security for a loan, nor may you transfer, pledge, sell or otherwise dispose of such Shares. This restriction on transfer will lapse with respect to any Shares
delivered to you under your Units. 
 (a) Death. Your Units are not transferable other than by will and by the laws of
descent and distribution. Upon receiving written permission from the Board or its duly authorized designee, you may, by delivering written notice to the Company, in a form provided by or otherwise satisfactory to the Company and any broker
designated by the Company to effect transactions under the Plan, designate a third party who, in the event of your death, will thereafter be entitled to receive any distribution of Shares or other consideration to which you were


  
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entitled at the time of your death pursuant to this Award Agreement. In the absence of such a designation, your executor or administrator of your estate will be entitled to receive, on behalf of
your estate, such Shares or other consideration. 
 (b) Domestic Relations Orders. Upon receiving written permission from
the Board or its duly authorized designee, and provided that you and the designated transferee enter into transfer and other agreements required by the Company, you may transfer your right to receive the distribution of Shares or other consideration
under your Units, pursuant to the terms of a domestic relations order or official marital settlement agreement that contains the information required by the Company to effectuate the transfer. You are encouraged to discuss with the Company’s
General Counsel the proposed terms of any such transfer prior to finalizing the domestic relations order or marital settlement agreement to help ensure the required information is contained within the domestic relations order or marital settlement
agreement. The Company is not obligated to allow you to transfer your Award in connection with your domestic relations order or marital settlement agreement. 
 6. DELIVERY/DATE OF ISSUANCE. 
 (a) The issuance of Shares in respect of the Units is intended to comply with Treasury Regulation Section 1.409A-1(b)(4) and will be construed and administered in such a manner. 

(b) Subject to the satisfaction of the withholding obligations set forth in Section 10 of this Award Agreement, in the event
one or more Units vests, the Company will issue to you, on the applicable vesting date, one Share for each Unit that vests and such issuance date is referred to as the “Original Issuance Date.” If the Original Issuance Date
falls on a date that is not a business day, delivery will instead occur on the following business day. 
 (c) However,
if (i) the Original Issuance Date does not occur (1) during an “open window period” applicable to you, as determined by the Company in accordance with the Company’s then-effective policy on trading in Company
securities, or (2) on a date when you are otherwise permitted to sell Shares on an established stock exchange or stock market (including but not limited to under a previously established 10b5-1 trading plan entered into in compliance with the
Company’s policies), and (ii) the Company elects, prior to the Original Issuance Date, (1) not to satisfy the Withholding Taxes described in Section 10 by withholding Shares from the Shares otherwise due, on the Original
Issuance Date, to you under this Award, (2) not to permit you to enter into a “same day sale” commitment with a broker-dealer pursuant to Section 10 of this Award Agreement (including but not limited to a commitment under a
previously established 10b5-1 trading plan entered into in compliance with the Company’s policies) and (3) not to permit you to pay your Withholding Taxes in cash, then the Shares that would otherwise be issued to you on the
Original Issuance Date will not be delivered on such Original Issuance Date and will instead be delivered on the first business day when you are not prohibited from selling Shares in the open public market, but in no event later than
December 31 of the calendar year in which the Original Issuance Date occurs (that is, the last day of your taxable year in which the Original Issuance Date occurs), or, if and only if permitted in a manner that complies with Treasury Regulation
Section 1.409A-1(b)(4), no later than the date that is the 15th day of the third calendar month of the year following the year in which the Shares under this Award are no longer subject to a “substantial risk of forfeiture” within the
meaning of Treasury Regulation Section 1.409A-1(d). 
 7. DIVIDENDS. You will receive no benefit or
adjustment to your Units with respect to any cash dividend, stock dividend or other distribution except as provided in the Plan. 
 8. RESTRICTIVE LEGENDS. Any Shares issued with respect to your Units will be endorsed with appropriate legends determined by the Company. 

9. AWARD NOT A SERVICE CONTRACT. Your Employment is not
for any specified term and may be terminated by you or by the Company or an Affiliate at any time, for any reason, with or without cause and with or without notice. Nothing in this Award Agreement (including, but not limited to, the vesting of
your Units or the 

  
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issuance of the Shares subject to your Units), the Plan or any covenant of good faith and fair dealing that may be found implicit in this Award Agreement or the Plan will: (i) confer
upon you any right to continue in the employ or service of, or affiliation with, the Company or an Affiliate; (ii) constitute any promise or commitment by the Company or an Affiliate regarding the fact or nature of future positions, future work
assignments, future compensation or any other term or condition of employment or affiliation; (iii) confer any right or benefit under this Award Agreement or the Plan unless such right or benefit has specifically accrued under the terms of this
Award Agreement or the Plan; or (iv) deprive the Company of the right to terminate you at will and without regard to any future vesting opportunity that you may have. 
 10. WITHHOLDING OBLIGATIONS. 
 (a) On
each vesting date, and on or before the time you receive a distribution of the Shares underlying your Units, and at any other time as reasonably requested by the Company in accordance with applicable tax laws, you agree to make adequate provision
for any sums required to satisfy the federal, state, local and foreign tax withholding obligations of the Company or any Affiliate that arise in connection with your Award (the “Withholding Taxes”). Specifically, the Company
or an Affiliate may, in its sole discretion, satisfy all or any portion of the Withholding Taxes relating to your Award by any of the following means or by a combination of such means: (i) withholding from any compensation otherwise payable to
you by the Company or an Affiliate; (ii) requiring you to tender a cash payment; (iii) permitting or requiring you to enter into a “same day sale” commitment with a broker-dealer that is a member of the Financial Industry
Regulatory Authority (a “FINRA Dealer”) whereby you irrevocably elect to sell a portion of the Shares to be delivered in connection with your Units to satisfy the Withholding Taxes and whereby the FINRA Dealer irrevocably
commits to forward the proceeds necessary to satisfy the Withholding Taxes directly to the Company and/or its Affiliates; or (iv) withholding Shares from the Shares issued or otherwise issuable to you in connection with your Units with a Fair
Market Value (measured as of the date Shares are issued to you) equal to the amount of such Withholding Taxes; provided, however, that the number of such Shares so withheld will not exceed the amount necessary to satisfy the Company’s
required tax withholding obligations using the minimum statutory withholding rates for federal, state, local and foreign tax purposes, including payroll taxes, that are applicable to supplemental taxable income. 

(b) Unless the Withholding Taxes of the Company and/or any Affiliate are satisfied, the Company will have no obligation to deliver
to you any Shares. 
 (c) In the event the Company’s obligation to withhold arises prior to the delivery to you of
Shares or it is determined after the delivery of Shares to you that the amount of the Company’s withholding obligation was greater than the amount withheld by the Company, you agree to indemnify and hold the Company harmless from any failure by
the Company to withhold the proper amount. 
 11. UNSECURED OBLIGATION. Your Award is
unfunded, and you will be considered an unsecured creditor of the Company with respect to the Company’s obligation, if any, to issue Shares or other property pursuant to this Award Agreement. You will not have voting or any other rights as a
stockholder of the Company with respect to the Shares to be issued pursuant to this Award Agreement until such Shares are issued to you. Nothing contained in this Award Agreement, and no action taken pursuant to its provisions, will create or be
construed to create a trust of any kind or a fiduciary relationship between you and the Company or any other person. 
 12.
OTHER DOCUMENTS. You hereby acknowledge receipt of and the right to receive a document providing the information required by Rule 428(b)(1) promulgated under the Securities Act, which includes the Plan prospectus.
In addition, you acknowledge receipt of the Company’s policy permitting certain individuals to sell Shares only during certain “window” periods and the Company’s insider trading policy, in effect from time to time. 

13. NOTICES. Any notices provided for in this Award Agreement or the Plan will be given in writing (including
electronically) and will be deemed effectively given upon receipt or, in the case of notices delivered by the Company to you, five days after deposit in the United States mail, postage prepaid, addressed to you at the last


  
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address you provided to the Company. The Company may, in its sole discretion, decide to deliver any documents related to participation in the Plan and this Award by electronic means or to request
your consent to participate in the Plan by electronic means. By accepting this Award, you consent to receive such documents by electronic delivery and to participate in the Plan through an online or electronic system established and maintained by
the Company or another third party designated by the Company. 
 14. MISCELLANEOUS. 

(a) The rights and obligations of the Company under your Award will be transferable to any one or more persons or entities, and
all covenants and agreements hereunder will inure to the benefit of, and be enforceable by, the Company’s successors and assigns. 
 (b) You agree upon request to execute any further documents or instruments necessary or desirable in the sole determination of the Company to carry out the purposes or intent of your Award.

 (c) You acknowledge and agree that you have reviewed your Award in its entirety, have had an opportunity to obtain the
advice of counsel prior to executing and accepting your Award, and fully understand all provisions of your Award. 
 (d)
This Award Agreement will be subject to all applicable laws, rules, and regulations, and to such approvals by any governmental agencies or national securities exchanges as may be required. 

(e) All obligations of the Company under the Plan and this Award Agreement will be binding on any successor to the Company,
whether the existence of such successor is the result of a direct or indirect purchase, merger, consolidation, or otherwise, of all or substantially all of the business and/or assets of the Company. 

15. GOVERNING PLAN DOCUMENT. Your Award is subject to all the provisions of the Plan,
the provisions of which are hereby made a part of your Award, and is further subject to all interpretations, amendments, rules and regulations which may from time to time be promulgated and adopted pursuant to the Plan. In addition, your Award will
be subject to recoupment in accordance with any clawback policy that the Company is required to adopt pursuant to the listing standards of any national securities exchange or association on which the Company’s securities are listed or as is
otherwise required by the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act or other applicable law. No recovery of compensation under such a clawback policy will be an event giving rise to a right to resign for “good reason” or
“constructive termination” (or similar term) under any plan of or agreement with the Company. 
 16.
SEVERABILITY. If all or any part of this Award Agreement or the Plan is declared by any court or governmental authority to be unlawful or invalid, such unlawfulness or invalidity will not invalidate any portion of this Award
Agreement or the Plan not declared to be unlawful or invalid. Any Section of this Award Agreement (or part of such a Section) so declared to be unlawful or invalid will, if possible, be construed in a manner which will give effect to the terms of
such Section or part of a Section to the fullest extent possible while remaining lawful and valid. 
 17.
EFFECT ON OTHER EMPLOYEE BENEFIT PLANS. The value of the Award subject to this Award Agreement will not be included as compensation, earnings, salaries, or
other similar terms used when calculating the Employee’s benefits under any employee benefit plan sponsored by the Company or any Affiliate, except as such plan otherwise expressly provides. The Company expressly reserves its rights to amend,
modify, or terminate any of the Company’s or any Affiliate’s employee benefit plans. 
 18.
AMENDMENT. Any amendment to this Award Agreement must be in writing, signed by a duly authorized representative of the Company. The Board reserves the right to amend this Award Agreement in any way it may deem necessary or
advisable to carry out the purpose of the grant as a result of any change in applicable laws or regulations or any future law, regulation, interpretation, ruling, or judicial decision. 

  
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 19. COMPLIANCE WITH SECTION 409A
OF THE CODE. This Award is intended to comply with the “short-term deferral” rule set forth in Treasury Regulation Section 1.409A-1(b)(4).
However, if this Award fails to satisfy the requirements of the short-term deferral rule and is otherwise not exempt from, and therefore deemed to be deferred compensation subject to, Section 409A of the Code, and if you are a “Specified
Employee” (within the meaning set forth Section 409A(a)(2)(B)(i) of the Code) as of the date of your separation from service (within the meaning of Treasury Regulation Section 1.409A-1(h)), then the issuance of any Shares that would
otherwise be made upon the date of the separation from service or within the first six months thereafter will not be made on the originally scheduled dates and will instead be issued in a lump sum on the date that is six months and one day after the
date of the separation from service, with the balance of the Shares issued thereafter in accordance with the original vesting and issuance schedule set forth above, but if and only if such delay in the issuance of the Shares is necessary to avoid
the imposition of taxation on you in respect of the Shares under Section 409A of the Code. Each installment of Shares that vests is a “separate payment” for purposes of Treasury Regulation Section 1.409A-2(b)(2). 

 20. NO OBLIGATION TO MINIMIZE TAXES. The
Company has no duty or obligation to minimize the tax consequences to you of this Award and will not be liable to you for any adverse tax consequences to you arising in connection with this Award. You are hereby advised to consult with your own
personal tax, financial and/or legal advisors regarding the tax consequences of this Award and by signing the Grant Notice, you have agreed that you have done so or knowingly and voluntarily declined to do so. 

  
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