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I'm surprised Iridium has to replace its satellites already. Seems like an incredibly expensive business for them if they have to replace their satellites so o
by JeffL 16y ago
I'm surprised Iridium has to replace its satellites already. Seems like an incredibly expensive business for them if they have to replace their satellites so often.
- InclinedPlane 16y agoThey have nearly 70 satellites, some of which have been on orbit for more than a decade, some degree of replacement doesn't seem so unusual.
- roedog 16y agoYou are right, it is an incredibly expensive business. InclinedPlane is right, a 10 year lifetime is pretty good for a satellite. They have finite fuel for stationkeeping, and the electronics wear out. The space environment is very hard on electronics.
- mkramlich 16y agoI imagine the combination of radiation plus the increasing amount of debris and garbage in orbit contribute to the degradation. Plus I'm sure part of it is just keeping up with the pace of technology innovation occuring on the ground. Everything computing/communication-related has been evolving fairly quickly the last 30 years or so.