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Eccentric Orbits

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The incredible story of Iridium-the most complex satellite system ever built, the cell phone of the future, and one of the largest corporate bankruptcies in American history-and one man's desperate race to save it.
Paperback / softback
560 Pages
01-October-2017
$28.00
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The incredible story of Iridium-the most complex satellite system ever built, the cell phone of the future, and one of the largest corporate bankruptcies in American history-and one man's desperate race to save it. 

In the early 1990s, Motorola, the legendary American radio and telecom company, made a huge gamble on a revolutionary satellite telephone system called Iridium. Light-years ahead of anything previously put into space, built on technology for Ronald Reagan's 'Star Wars', Iridium was a mind-boggling technical accomplishment that sent waves of panic through phone companies around the world, because, surely, Iridium was the future of communication. Only months after launching service, bankruptcy was inevitable-the largest to that point in American history. It looked like Iridium would go down as just a 'science experiment'.

That is, until Dan Colussy got a wild idea. Colussy, a retired former President of Pan Am, heard about Motorola's plans to 'de-orbit' the system and decided he would buy Iridium. 

A rollicking, unforgettable tale of innovation and failure, Eccentric Orbits masterfully traces the development of satellite technology, the birth of Iridium, and Colussy's tireless efforts to stop it from being destroyed, despite the doors slammed in his face. 

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    Product Details
    ISBN-13
    9780802126788
    Author
    John Bloom
    Publisher
    Grove/Atlantic, Inc.
    Published
    01-October-2017
    Format
    Paperback / softback
    Pages
    560

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    $28.00
    Ships in 2-5 business days

    Delivery estimate

    Hurry up! Current stock:

    Eccentric Orbits

    $28.00

    Description

    The incredible story of Iridium-the most complex satellite system ever built, the cell phone of the future, and one of the largest corporate bankruptcies in American history-and one man's desperate race to save it. 

    In the early 1990s, Motorola, the legendary American radio and telecom company, made a huge gamble on a revolutionary satellite telephone system called Iridium. Light-years ahead of anything previously put into space, built on technology for Ronald Reagan's 'Star Wars', Iridium was a mind-boggling technical accomplishment that sent waves of panic through phone companies around the world, because, surely, Iridium was the future of communication. Only months after launching service, bankruptcy was inevitable-the largest to that point in American history. It looked like Iridium would go down as just a 'science experiment'.

    That is, until Dan Colussy got a wild idea. Colussy, a retired former President of Pan Am, heard about Motorola's plans to 'de-orbit' the system and decided he would buy Iridium. 

    A rollicking, unforgettable tale of innovation and failure, Eccentric Orbits masterfully traces the development of satellite technology, the birth of Iridium, and Colussy's tireless efforts to stop it from being destroyed, despite the doors slammed in his face. 

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