Iridium Communications Inc. is a company, based in McLean, Virginia, United States which operates the Iridium satellite constellation, a system of 66 active satellites used for worldwide voice and data communication from hand-heldsatellite phones and other transceiver units. The Iridium network is unique in that it covers the whole Earth, including poles, oceans and airways. The company derives its name from the chemical element iridium. The number of satellites projected in the early stages of planning was 77, the atomic number of iridium, evoking the metaphor of 77 electrons orbiting the nucleus.
Write a comment
Tags:
Additional Info
- Country of Registration: USA
- Organisation Website: www.iridium.com
- Organisation Wikipedia Page: Iridium_Communications
Latest from Copernical Team
- Signatures of Ice-Free Ancient Ponds and Lakes Found on Mars
- The video games bedeviling Elon Musk
- SpaceX again scrubs launch of more satellites from California
- General Atomics tests advanced nuclear thermal propulsion fuel at NASA Marshall Space Flight Center
- Shenzhou XIX crew completes second spacewalk
- Galactic Energy launches five satellites into orbit
- Trump vows to plant flag on Mars, omits mention of Moon return
- South American Space Programs: No Cooperation, No Gains
- New measurements turn the Hubble tension into a crisis
- Towards low-cost missions to Mars