![](/sites/default/files/styles/crop_freeform/public/uploads/2016/09/iridiumthalesaleniaspacepromo.jpg?itok=J5kHORKe)
Credit: Thales Alenia Space
In 1998, Iridium switched on the world’s first global telephone service, utilizing a constellation of 66 interconnected satellites operating in six low-Earth-orbit planes. Less than a year later, the company went bankrupt and took its place in history as one of the worst business blunders of the...
Subscription Required
This content requires a subscription to one of the Aviation Week Intelligence Network (AWIN) bundles.
Schedule a demo today to find out how you can access this content and similar content related to your area of the global aviation industry.
Already an AWIN subscriber? Login
Did you know? Aviation Week has won top honors multiple times in the Jesse H. Neal National Business Journalism Awards, the business-to-business media equivalent of the Pulitzer Prizes.