University of Kansas
4
Iridium Satellite System
�Low earth orbiting satellite system
�True pole-to-pole coverage
�66 Satellites in orbit
�Altitude of 780 Km
�Minimum elevation angle � 8.2 0�
�Average satellite view time � 10 minutes
�Access Scheme � FDMA and TDMA
�Maximum number of users � 80 users per a diameter of 318 Km
�Low cost availability for research purposes ( NSF sponsored)
�Data communication features
�Type of data services � Iridium-to-PSTN, Iridium-to-Iridium
�Throughput � 2.4 Kbps, primarily intended as a voice only system
�Cannot support most of the data communication requirements of polar research
�Not practical to be used as a main stream/ life-line communication system