Iridium: Failures & successes

This paper will provide an overview of the Iridium business venture in term s of the challenges faced, the successes achieved, and the causes of the ul timate failure of the venture - bankruptcy and system de-orbit. The paper w ill address technical, business, and policy issues. The intent of the paper is to provide a balanced and accurate overview of the Iridium experience, to aid future decision-making by policy makers, the business community, and technical experts. Key topics will include the history of the program, the objectives and decision making of Motorola, the market research and analys is conducted, partnering strategies and their impact, consumer equipment av ailability, and technical issues - target performance, performance achieved , technical accomplishments, and expected and unexpected technical challeng es. The paper will use as sources trade media and business articles on the Iridium program, technical paper and conference presentations, Wall Street analyst's reports, and, where possible, interviews with participants and cl ose observers. (C) 2001 Published by Elsevier Science Ltd.