Iridium Repeater Kits

Iridium Communications Inc. is a Virginia, USA-based company that provides a truly global voice and data communications service via the world’s largest commercial satellite constellation.

The Iridium network provides high-quality voice and data connections over the entire surface of the planet – across continents, oceans, airways and even the polar regions.

The constellation consists of 66 cross-linked, low-Earth orbit (LEO) satellites (plus 14 in-orbit spares), operating as a fully-meshed network.

This comprehensive coverage footprint provides a highly dependable, critical communication lifeline to a wide variety of users the world over.

The graphic illustrates how the 66 satellites achieve global coverage, at a height of approximately 483 miles above the Earth’s surface.

There are 11 satellites in each of 6 orbital planes, with orbits roughly “crisscrossing” above the north and south poles.

Iridium network: facts and figures:

• Satellites travel at 17,000 miles per hour, completing an orbit of the Earth in about 100 minutes.
• The time taken to cross the sky from horizon to horizon is approximately 10 minutes.
• Each fast-moving satellite communicates with adjacent satellites in front, behind and alongside its own orbit.
• Each satellite can project 48 spot beams on to the Earth’s surface; the size of each spot beam is approximately 250 miles in diameter.
• The satellite’s 48-beam footprint is around 2,800 miles in diameter.
• All spot beams and satellite footprints overlap, providing seamless global coverage.

However, use of Iridium devices indoors is very difficult, if not impossible, without sky-view.  This is where an Iridium repeater kit plays a very important role in a number of different applications.