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.

Their service was restarted in 2001 by the newly founded Iridium Satellite LLC, which was owned by a group of private investors.

Iridium controls the virtual country codes + 8816 and + 8817, part of the 881 range designated by the ITU for the Global Mobile Satellite System.

cs: Iridium Satellite LLC

* Iridium Satellite LLC

Iridium Satellite LLC phones use frequencies between 1616 and 1626. 5 MHz to communicate with the satellites.

In 2001, service was re-established by Iridium Satellite LLC.

For example, Inmarsat satellite phones are issued with code + 870, while Global Mobile Satellite System providers, such as Iridium, issue numbers in country code + 881 (" Global Mobile Satellite System ") or + 882 (" International Networks ").

* Iridium Satellite LLC

* Iridium Satellite LLC

The SEALs made a number of attempts to contact their combat operations center with a PRC-148 MBITR ( Multi Band Inter / Intra Radio ) and then with an Iridium Satellite Phone.

* Major breakthroughs in chemistry occur, with the identification of the elements Rhodium, Palladium, Osmium, Iridium, and Cerium.

On February 10, 2009, Iridium 33 collided with a defunct Russian satellite, Kosmos 2251, 800 km over Siberia.

Iridium satellites are now an essential component of communications with remote science camps, especially the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station.

In 2011, a highly durable Iridium Extreme ( 9575 ) phone was introduced with a built-in GPS emergency button and interface to advanced location based services.

* Iridium 9555 — A satellite handset with integrated speakerphone and hands-free capability, launched in late 2008.

Some types of buoys, such as those used for the tsunami warning system, use Iridium satellites to communicate with their base.

The Iridium system deals with " minutes ", which are subdivided into several much smaller " units ".

However many regional telephone service operators have no interconnect agreement with Iridium or other satellite networks and users on these networks need to call reversed charge to a U. S .- based number.

Since spring 2007, postpaid Iridium subscribers have an option to associate their Iridium numbers with a direct U. S .- based number ( the so-called + 1 Access service ).

Pagers are assigned with telephone numbers in area code 480 and can also be contacted using email, SMS and the web-based interface used to send messages to Iridium phones.

In July 2011 The Federal Aviation Administration ( FAA ) issued a ruling that approves the use of Iridium for Future Air Navigation System ( FANS ) data links, enabling satellite data links with air traffic control ( ATC ) for aircraft flying in the FANS environment including areas not served by Inmarsat ( above or below 70 Degrees Latitude ) which includes Polar routes.

External " hockey puck " type antennas used with Iridium handheld phones, data modems and SBD terminals are usually defined as 3dBi gain, 50 ohm impedance with RHCP ( right hand circular polarization ) and 1. 5: 1 VSWR.

The TDMA frame starts off with a 20. 32 ms period used for simplex messaging to devices such as pagers and to alert Iridium phones of an incoming call, followed by the four upstream slots and four downstream slots.

Iridium generally does not have roaming agreements with terrestrial / cellular operators.

The commercial failure of the similar Iridium and Globalstar ventures ( composed of 66 and 48 operational satellites, respectively ) and other systems, along with bankruptcy protection filings, were primary factors in halting the project, and Teledesic officially suspended its satellite construction work on October 1, 2002.

Iridium is the rarest transition metal occurring within the Earth's crust, with an abundance by mass of less than one part per billion.

The end of that decade saw the implosion of the satellite constellation market with the bankruptcy of Iridium.

* Kosmos 2251-collided with an Iridium satellite in February 2009

Three handsets were released in 1999 including one with an unusual docking station which contained the Iridium transceiver and antenna, as well as a pager for the Iridium network .< ref >

Some units were exchanged for satellite-based Iridium equipment, but Aircell's recent acquisition of three MHz of the 800 MHz spectrum at auction at the FCC, will undoubtedly lead to a new generation of products.

The first Iridium call was made by then-Vice President of the United States Al Gore.

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.

* Iridium 9505A — Large brick shaped satellite handset manufactured from 2002 to 2008 by the second corporate incarnation of Iridium.

* Motorola 9505 — Large brick shaped handset manufactured from 1999 to 2002 by the first corporate incarnation of Iridium.

* Kyocera SS-66K — Manufactured in very small numbers by Kyocera in 1998-1999 for the first Iridium corporation, very large handset.

Iridium and other satellite phones may be identifiable to the listener by the " clipping " effect of the data compression and the latency ( time delay ) due to the electronic equipment used and the distances the signal must travel.

Since Iridium charges quite a bit for merely accessing their network without making calls it is possible to extend the validity of such an account by a month for around US $ 45.

It is also possible to call an Iridium phone by using a US-based gateway number at the Arizona gateway.

The latest generation of SBD transceiver, the Iridium 9602, can receive up to 270 bytes per SBD data message ( defined by Iridium as " mobile terminated SBD ") and can transmit a maximum of 340 bytes per SBD message ( defined by Iridium as " mobile originated SBD ").

Another popular constellation type is the near-polar Walker Star, which is used by Iridium.

He also performed every Monday night, accompanied by a trio which included guitarist Lou Pallo, bassist Paul Nowinksi ( and later, Nicki Parrott ) and pianist John Colaianni, originally at Fat Tuesdays, and later at the Iridium Jazz Club on Broadway in the Times Square area of New York City.

Data access to the station is provided by access via NASA's TDRS-F1, Marisat, LES 9, GOES & Iridium satellite constellation.