Iridium 77

This article is about the satellite. For the element, see Iridium. For the rap album, see Livestock (rapper).
Iridium 77

Iridium satellite, constructed entirely from spares and donated by Motorola to the National Air and Space Museum.
Mission type Communications
Operator Iridium
COSPAR ID 1998-051E
SATCAT № 25471
Mission duration Ongoing
Spacecraft properties
Spacecraft type Iridium
Manufacturer Motorola
Start of mission
Launch date September 8, 1998, 21:13:00 (1998-09-08UTC21:13Z) UTC
Rocket Delta II 7920-10C
Launch site Vandenberg SLC-2W
Orbital parameters
Reference system Geocentric
Regime Polar Orbit
Eccentricity 0.00145
Periapsis 520 km
Apoapsis 540 km
Inclination 86°
Period 95 minutes
Epoch 1998-09-08

Iridium 77 is a communications Satellite which is part of a satellite constellation known as Iridium, named after the 77th chemical element of the periodic table, iridium. It was launched in 1998 and as of 2014, operational. It is owned and funded by Iridium, a communications company.

Network

Iridium 77 is a part of a space-based communications system called Iridium. Conceived, designed, and built by Motorola, the Iridium system provides wireless, mobile communications through a network of 66 satellites in polar, low-Earth orbits. Inaugurated in November 1998, under the auspices of Iridium LLC, this complex space system allowed callers using hand-held mobile phones and pagers to communicate anywhere in the world--a first in the history of telephony.

Overview

Launch

It was launched by Delta II 7920 from Vandenberg Air Force Base on 8 September 1998 at 21:13:00 UTC[1] along with four other satellites, all of which were Iridium satellites.

Features

Iridium 77 is 3-axis stabilized, with a hydrazine propulsion system. It has 2 solar panels with 1-axis articulation. The system employs L-Band using FDMA/TDMA to provide voice at 4.8 kbit/s and data at 2.4 kbit/s with 16 dB margin. The satellite has 48 spot beams for Earth coverage and uses Ka-Band for crosslinks and ground commanding.[2]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Iridium 77". nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov. NASA. 16 August 2013. Retrieved 30 March 2014.
  2. ↑ "Iridium 77". nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov. NASA. 16 August 2013. Retrieved 30 March 2014.
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