Iridium satellite constellation
Satellite constellation providing voice and data coverage
Iridium satellite constellation
The Iridium satellite constellation provides L band voice and data information coverage to satellite phones, satellite messenger communication devices and integrated transceivers. Iridium Communications owns and operates the constellation, additionally selling equipment and access to its services. It was conceived by Bary Bertiger, Raymond J. Leopold and Ken Peterson in late 1987 (in 1988 protected by patents Motorola filed in their names) and then developed by Motorola on a fixed-price contract from July 29, 1993, to November 1, 1998, when the system became operational and commercially available. The constellation consists of 66 active satellites in orbit, required for global coverage, and additional spare satellites to serve in case of failure. Satellites are placed in low Earth orbit at a height of approximately 781 kilometres (485 mi) and inclination of 86.4°. The nearly polar orbit and communication between satellites via Ka band inter-satellite links provide global service availability...
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