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Iridium Satellite Breaks Up Over Arctic

Posted by timothy on from the tears-in-the-snow dept.

Julius X writes: "Early Wednesday morning, the first Iridium satellite to reenter the atmposphere broke up over the Arctic Ocean at 9:44 GMT. The satellite had failed just two months after its launch in September 1998, and had been tumbling out of control ever since. The report here on Space.com provides more detail, and says that another satellite is due to come down in the next three weeks or so."

8 of 86 comments (clear)

  1. The full story by Galvatron · · Score: 3
    The subject has been covered extensively already.

    Chapter 11 doesn't really permit the kind of activity you're describing, by the way. Nearly all Chapter 11 plans have to be approved by the debtors (and if they're not, the judge has to decide that it's an exceptionally fair plan, and the debtors are simply being malicious in refusing to approve), and if they don't approve (and the courts don't force it), then you'll end up under Chapter 7 instead. Chapter 7 is total liquidation. Actually, about 90% of Chapter 11 filings end up under failing to get approval.

    I can't find any specific information, but based on certain information (eg, the fact that Iridium, LLC has sold their satellite constellation, without which they have no real business) I conclude they've filed for Chapter 7. The owner of Iridium Satellite, LLC is one Dan Colussy, a former Pan Am president, who to the best of my knowledge was never affiliated with Iridium, LLC in any manner. My guess is that Mr. Colussy wanted to keep the brand name, which is why the companies have such similar names.

    Standard disclaimer: IANAL, but I was raised by one, and I've worked with companies going through bankrupcy before.

    --
    "The question of whether a computer can think is no more interesting than that of whether a submarine can swim" -EWD
  2. Re:I want pictures, damnit... by Julius+X · · Score: 3

    The article on Space.com has an animation of the satellite falling from orbit, just click on the "Multimedia" link in the arcticle.



    -Julius X

    --

    -Julius X
    remove "-whatkindofspamdoyoutakemefor-" from email to send
  3. The sky is falling! by Kierthos · · Score: 3

    Chicken Little was right?

    Say, wasn't it an Iridium meteorite that killed all the dinosaurs?

    Kierthos

    --
    Mr. Hu is not a ninja.
    1. Re:The sky is falling! by ca1v1n · · Score: 3

      That was actually part of the joke behind naming the system Iridium in the first place. Because of the meteorite, which contained abnormally high levels of Iridium, as many meteorites do, there is a layer of reddish soil a centimeter or two thick everywhere in the world if you dig down to a level that corresponds to 65 million years ago. The idea of Iridium completely enveloping the earth is a corrolary to a service that completely envelopes the earth.

      Metaphors aside, I do think it's bad symbolism to associate either a business venture or a satellite launch with something that fell from a great height and exploded spectacularly.

      --
      WARNING: there is a trojan on your
  4. chance to hit by mirwor · · Score: 3

    They say there is a one-in-10000 chance being hit by a falling iridium spacecraft. Anyone knows how big the chance is to win in lotto?
    ...whatever ;)

  5. Just like their stock by allanj · · Score: 3

    The satellite had failed just two months after its launch in September 1998, and had been tumbling out of control ever since.

    That sounds an awful lot like the story of the company itself and in particular, their stock.

    --
    Black holes are where God divided by zero
  6. This boat is sinking by neuneu · · Score: 4

    Arr! Damn you, This falling Iridium satellite has just cut a gap into the hull of my boat. Arr!

  7. Iridium vs Pioneer 6 by tcyun · · Score: 3
    It is interesting that yesterday's post regarding the long lasting Pioneer 6 spacecraft appears so close to today's post regarding the Iridium satellite. I realize that the objective for the two objects were different, but the end results are much different.

    The juxtaposition raises a few questions in my mind, most immediately, how much faith should we place in the reliability of our spacecraft? Or, more generally, has there been a change in the quality surrounding spacecraft over the past 20 years?

    I am not talking about single event errors (explosions, failed mars probes), but instead thinking about how Iridium could have spent so much money and then not provided any real benefit to the creators. (I am assume and believe that most would consider the Pioneer missions successful to all parties involved in it.)