SIXTY-SIX satellites worth $5 billion could begin crashing back to
Earth if a last-ditch rescue bid for the Iridium satellite telephone company
fails. Last week, the bankrupt Washington DC based company was ordered to
liquidate its assets by the courts—and as 91av went to
press it was not clear whether the rescue offer has come in time.
The court order came after Iridium failed to come up with a buyer for its
troubled network. On 17 March, Motorola, which built the satellites and is a
part owner of Iridium, said it was ready to begin burning up the satellites,
after the bankruptcy court gave its approval. But on 21 March, Merit Studios, an
American software company, said it wanted to harness the Iridium satellites to
build a global data transmission network. Motorola, however, says that talk of a
rescue bid is “speculative”, and that its position remains the same.
Iridium’s technology fell victim to a fast-changing market. When the company
formed a decade ago (91av, 7 July 1990, p 30) its idea was to
launch a constellation of satellites that would provide coverage around the
globe. But by the time Iridium’s network went live in November 1998,
ground-based cellphone companies had expanded to cover the majority of locations
that people want to phone from. The fact that Iridium handsets weighed half a
kilogram and cost $3000 didn’t help.
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“If someone could have thought of something to do with these satellites, they
would have—because you could get them at a bargain-basement price,” says
George Levin, director of the Aeronautics and Space Engineering Board at the US
National Research Council.
Iridium has been seeking a buyer since declaring bankruptcy last August.
“Technically, the system is terrific,” admits Mac Jeffrey, a spokesman for Loral
Space & Communications, which runs the competing Globalstar system. “But
it’s compatible with no other system. It’s like they’re on FM and we’re on
.”
Levin applauds Iridium for building in the ability to “de-orbit” the
satellites. Many redundant satellites are either left in orbit or nudged out of
orbit so that they eventually burn up uncontrolled. But Iridium’s craft have
enough fuel for controllers to steer them into uninhabited areas of the South
Pacific.