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Iridium satellite constellation of 66 satellites -
6 planes of 11 satellites each |
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| 1st Gen Iridium Satellite (replica) |
FCC Greenlights Iridium Plan for Deorbiting Its 1st-generation Constellation | SpaceNews.com
The U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC), which licenses
Iridium’s operations, approved part of the company’s deorbit
modification request for as many as 10 satellites, and rejected the
request for similar dispensation for the entire 66-satellite
constellation. Company officials said they have no problem with the FCC
decision.
McLean, Virginia-based Iridium operates a fleet of 66 satellites,
plus spares, in a circular orbit some 778 kilometers in altitude.
All the satellites are well beyond their planned retirement dates,
but most still have more than enough fuel to accomplish the original
deorbiting obligation. Iridium had promised the U.S. government that it
would send the retiring satellites into an elliptical orbit with a
perigee of 250 kilometers, from which they would be pulled by
atmospheric drag into a destructive re-entry after having been
“passivated” to eliminate stored energy sources such as charged
batteries.
Iridium asks court to let satellites burn - CNET News March 17, 2000
The company launched service in November 1998, but not long after began
missing revenue and subscriber targets. A string of executive
resignations and generous time extensions from its investors and
bondholders failed to alleviate the company's woes and the company filed
for bankruptcy protections.
Motorola said it will maintain the Iridium satellite system for a
limited period of time, while finalizing a plan to "deorbit" the
satellites. Iridium had hoped for an eleventh-hour rescue.
Iridium reborn. Globalstar expands - Ocean Navigator - January/February 2003
Iridium's satellite constellation escaped fiery destruction on Dec. 6,
2000, when the Pentagon announced a $72 million, two-year contract with
Iridium Satellite LLC of Arnold, Md., to provide continued Iridium
service. According to the Pentagon, there are an estimated 20,000 U.S.
government users of Iridium. Boeing Corp. will operate the system, which
includes low-earth-orbiting satellites, a control network, and an
operations center. Iridium Satellite LLC (www.iridium.com) is taking
over the Iridium system for a reported $25 million as per the order of
the U.S. Bankruptcy Court of southern N.Y. Iridium Satellite is headed
by Dan Colussy, a former president of Pan Am airlines and chairman of
United Nuclear Corp.
Fresh From $5 Billion Bankruptcy, Iridium Plans to Relaunch Its Mobile-Phone Service - March 29, 2001
NEW YORK -- Fresh from its $5 billion
bankruptcy and the near-destruction of 66 satellites in the earth's
atmosphere, Iridium plans to relaunch its mobile-phone service this
week.
The new owners of the satellite
network, Iridium Satellite LLC, announced Wednesday that the system will
go live again Friday, almost exactly a year after commercial service
was turned off. Wireless-data services are slated to begin in June. The
company has been testing the system for three months and short-message
services are expected later in the year.
NASA's Odds For Iridium De-Orbit Casualties - Slashdot
"U.S. space scientists put the odds at nearly 1 in 250 that debris
from the proposed burn-up of the world's first global satellite
telephone mesh would hit someone on Earth.
The prospects of a casualty from the now-averted mass 'de-orbiting' of
the system known as Iridium were spelled out in a previously secret
study by the National Aeronautics and
Space Administration."
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