Iridium’s NEXT Satellites: Global Reach, New Partnerships

Iridium constellation

Most of us remember Iridium as the Motorola-backed, multi-billion dollar commercial satellite phone flop. The expensive, bulky phones, the $2 per minute airtime charge, and the inability to use the phone inside buildings doomed the project, which came online when the cell phone market was taking off. Despite all these problems, the US military found the low-bandwidth satellites and phones very useful in remote areas. So the Pentagon backed an effort for the constellation to be acquired by investors at a fraction of the original $5 billion development cost, and became the revived satellite company’s largest customer.

Iridium Communications Inc. has been steadily picking up customers beyond the Pentagon. They now have almost 360,000 subscribers, and in 2007, they began planing a second-generation satellite constellation called Iridium NEXT. With launches expected to begin in 2015, Iridium NEXT will offer higher data speeds, flexible bandwidth allocation, and IP-based routing. In the meantime, militaries have found innovative ways to use Iridium’s services, making Iridium NEXT a privately-held but significant space resource for future military operations.

Rapid Fire Evening 2011-06-09: Prithvi (P-II) Test

• The incoming U.S. Defense Secretary tells Congress that the challenge is to design budgets that eliminate wasteful and duplicative spending, while safeguarding the nation’s defense.

• Giovanni de Briganti’s report on the performance of French Rafale fighters over Libya also includes useful information concerning Sagem DS’ GPS-guided AASM bombs, the uses of MIDS/Link-16, and doctrinal/operational shifts underway within the Armée de l’Air.

• Meanwhile, bids are in, and final tests done for the US Army & Navy’s big JAGM missile program. It will become America’s future light strike missile, replacing Hellfire, TOW & Maverick, so the stakes are high.

Rapid Fire Morning 2011-06-09: UK Aerospace Survey

• ADS, the UK’s aerospace, defense and security trade organization, publishes its annual aerospace sector survey covering both civil and defense aerospace. The survey outlines a strong performance for the UK’s aerospace sector despite tough economic conditions. Highlights include sales in excess of $38 billion, a 2.1% increase on 2009 figures.

• Boeing announces that its Defense, Space & Security unit has signed Memorandums of Understanding (MOUs) with three Malaysian companies. The MOUs outline plans to explore business opportunities for manufacturing specialized components and equipment for use in the defense and aerospace sectors.