Iridium-NEXT is also the first commercial satellite constellation made available for hosted payloads to provide a unique opportunity for meeting Earth observation requirements that could not be realized by a stand-alone project. The plan for replenishing the Iridium constellation was announced in 2007 to ensure continuity of the existing architecture but expand capacity, support higher data rates, and introduce new services while being more cost-effective when it comes to maintenance and standard operations. As of mid-2016, only 64 satellites were operational, creating service outages around the equatorial region where the satellite footprints are most spread-out with very little overlap between satellites. By that point, the satellite constellation was without spare satellites in some of its planes and satellites were shifted between planes to maximize coverage. In September 2009, the company merged with GHQ, a special purpose acquisition company, to form Iridium Communications, Inc. There have also been space-based applications for Iridium in the form of inter-satellite link experiments using small satellite missions and the Re-Entry Break-Up Recorder flown on various re-entering spacecraft also employs Iridium to send data to its operators. Seven new spares were launched by June 2002 and business took off with users flowing in from various sectors including maritime, aviation, government, different industries, frequent world travelers and explorers. First Generation Iridium Satellite – Image: Iridium Communications After the company went bankrupt, a valuable asset – 66 active satellites circling the Earth – was up for sale and a private group of investors bought the constellation for under $50 million and services were re-started in 2001 under Iridium Satellite LLC.
Less than a year after the company’s services had gone live, Iridium SSC had to file for bankruptcy due to a combination of the initial cost of deploying the system and difficulty gaining customers because of cost of service, reception issues and mismanagement. The first five Iridium satellites launched in May 1997 and the full constellation of 66 active spacecraft and six spares was established in mid-May 1998 with services starting on November 1, 1998. An early calculation showed that 77 satellites would be needed to achieve full global coverage and the project was named Iridium for the metal with atomic number 77 (with 77 electrons circling the nucleus, representative of the constellation around Earth).ĭevelopment of the Iridium system – comprising the space segment and customer terminals – was handled by Motorola with Lockheed Martin contracted to build the satellites.
The Iridium constellation was conceived in the late 1980s to improve communications at high Earth latitudes where services from Geostationary Satellites may not be available due to their low position in the sky. Iridium is a Mobile Satellite Services provider, offering worldwide voice and data communications through satellite phones and other transceiver units with truly global coverage including the polar regions, the vast oceans and airways. Comprised of 66 active satellites in orbit, Iridium-NEXT delivers full global coverage on a 24/7 basis and, through a unique Public-Private Partnership – offers unprecedented access to Earth observation data by flying hosted payloads on each of the constellation spacecraft. as the company’s second generation global communications system for satellite calls and data transfer. Iridium-NEXT is a low-orbiting communications satellite system operated by Iridium Communications Inc.
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