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Iridium Communications Inc. (formerly Iridium Satellite LLC) 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-held satellite 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; however 95 satellites have been launched so far; the atomic number of americium. The satellites are frequently visible in the night sky as satellite flares, a phenomenon typically observed as short-lived bright flashes of light. == History == The Iridium communications service was launched on November 1, 1998 by what was then Iridium SSC. The first Iridium call was made by Vice President of the United States Al Gore.〔(Iridium Satellite Phones — The Amazing Worldwide Service )〕 Motorola provided the technology and major financial backing.〔Motorola Executive Helped Spur Cellphone Revolution, Oversaw Ill-fated Iridium Project, Wall Street Journal, Remembrances, June 20–21, 2009, p. A10〕 The logo of the company was designed by Landor Associates, and represents the Big Dipper. The founding company went into Chapter 11 bankruptcy nine months later, on August 13, 1999. The handsets could not operate as promoted until the entire constellation of satellites was in place, requiring a massive initial capital cost running into the billions of dollars. The cost of service was prohibitive for many users, reception indoors was difficult and the bulkiness and expense of the hand held devices when compared to terrestrial cellular mobile phones discouraged adoption among potential users.〔 Mismanagement is another major factor cited in the original program's failure. In 1999, CNN writer David Rohde detailed how he applied for Iridium service and was sent information kits, but was never contacted by a sales representative. He encountered programming problems on Iridium's website, and a "run-around" from the company's representatives. After Iridium filed bankruptcy, it cited "difficulty gaining subscribers". The initial commercial failure of Iridium had a damping effect on other proposed commercial satellite constellation projects, including Teledesic. Other schemes (Orbcomm, ICO Global Communications, and Globalstar) followed Iridium into bankruptcy protection, while a number of other proposed schemes were never constructed.〔 At one stage, there was a threat that the Iridium satellites would have to be de-orbited; however, they remained in orbit and operational.〔(Iridium, Bankrupt, Is Planning a Fiery Ending for Its 88 Satellites )〕 Their service was restarted in 2001 by the newly founded Iridium Satellite LLC, which was owned by a group of private investors. Although the satellites and other assets and technology behind Iridium were estimated to have cost on the order of US$6 billion, the investors bought the firm for about US$35 million.〔 In 2008, as part of a rebranding campaign by Media Graphics, Inc. the logo would be redesigned with updates to corporate color palette and font treatment. On February 10, 2009, Iridium 33 collided with a defunct Russian satellite, Kosmos 2251, over Siberia. Two large debris clouds were created. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Iridium Communications」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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