Eccentric Orbits: The Iridium Story
(Adobe EPUB eBook, Kindle Book, OverDrive Read)
In the early 1990s, Motorola developed a revolutionary satellite system called Iridium that promised to be its crowning achievement. Its constellation of 66 satellites in polar orbit was a mind-boggling technical accomplishment, surely the future of communication. The only problem was that Iridium the company was a commercial disaster. Only months after launching service, it was $11 billion in debt, burning through $100 million a month and crippled by baroque rate plans and agreements that forced calls through Moscow, Beijing, Fucino, Italy, and elsewhere. Bankruptcy was inevitable—the largest to that point in American history. And when no real buyers seemed to materialize, it looked like Iridium would go down as just a “science experiment.”
That is, until Dan Colussy got a wild idea. Colussy, a former head of Pan-Am now retired and working on his golf game in Palm Beach, heard about Motorola’s plans to “de-orbit” the system and decided he would buy Iridium and somehow turn around one of the biggest blunders in the history of business.
Impeccably researched and wonderfully told, Eccentric Orbits is a rollicking, unforgettable tale of technological achievement, business failure, the military-industrial complex, and one of the greatest deals of all time.
“Deep reporting put forward with epic intentions . . . a story that soars and jumps and dives and digresses . . . [A] big, gutsy, exciting book.” —The Wall Street Journal, “A Top 10 Nonfiction Book of 2016”
“Spellbinding . . . A tireless researcher, Bloom delivers a superlative history . . . A tour de force.” —Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
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John Bloom. (2016). Eccentric Orbits: The Iridium Story. Grove Atlantic.
Chicago / Turabian - Author Date Citation (style guide)John Bloom. 2016. Eccentric Orbits: The Iridium Story. Grove Atlantic.
Chicago / Turabian - Humanities Citation (style guide)John Bloom, Eccentric Orbits: The Iridium Story. Grove Atlantic, 2016.
MLA Citation (style guide)John Bloom. Eccentric Orbits: The Iridium Story. Grove Atlantic, 2016.
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- bioText: John Bloom is an investigative journalist and the author of nine books. A Pulitzer Prize nominee and three-time finalist for the National Magazine Award, he has written for Rolling Stone, Playboy, Newsweek, and the Village Voice, among other publications. In addition to coauthoring, with Jim Atkinson, true crime classic Evidence of Love (1983), he penned, most recently, Eccentric Orbits: The Iridium Story (2016), an Amazon Best Book of the Year So Far heralded by the Wall Street Journal as “a panoramic narrative . . . big, gutsy, exciting.” Bloom has also written several books of humor and film criticism and hosted television shows as his alter ego, Joe Bob Briggs. He lives in New York City.
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- “Good corporate drama . . . an enlightening narrative of how new communications infrastructures often come about.” —The Economist, “A Book of the Year 2016”
In the early 1990s, Motorola developed a revolutionary satellite system called Iridium that promised to be its crowning achievement. Its constellation of 66 satellites in polar orbit was a mind-boggling technical accomplishment, surely the future of communication. The only problem was that Iridium the company was a commercial disaster. Only months after launching service, it was $11 billion in debt, burning through $100 million a month and crippled by baroque rate plans and agreements that forced calls through Moscow, Beijing, Fucino, Italy, and elsewhere. Bankruptcy was inevitable—the largest to that point in American history. And when no real buyers seemed to materialize, it looked like Iridium would go down as just a “science experiment.”
That is, until Dan Colussy got a wild idea. Colussy, a former head of Pan-Am now retired and working on his golf game in Palm Beach, heard about Motorola’s plans to “de-orbit” the system and decided he would buy Iridium and somehow turn around one of the biggest blunders in the history of business.
Impeccably researched and wonderfully told, Eccentric Orbits is a rollicking, unforgettable tale of technological achievement, business failure, the military-industrial complex, and one of the greatest deals of all time.
“Deep reporting put forward with epic intentions . . . a story that soars and jumps and dives and digresses . . . [A] big, gutsy, exciting book.” —The Wall Street Journal, “A Top 10 Nonfiction Book of 2016”
“Spellbinding . . . A tireless researcher, Bloom delivers a superlative history . . . A tour de force.” —Kirkus Reviews (starred review) - reviews
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Starred review from April 15, 2016
A spellbinding history of a massively impressive work of technology.Cellphones barely cover 14 percent of the world. Most readers will be surprised to learn that another service, Iridium, covers the entire Earth through a dazzling system of a few dozen satellites launched in 1997 and still operating today. It is expensive, and the handsets are nonsmart, but if you're climbing Mount Everest, crossing the ocean, or wintering in Antarctica, you can phone home. A tireless researcher, investigative journalist Bloom (co-author: Evidence of Love: A True Story of Passion and Death in the Suburbs, 1985, etc.) delivers a superlative history in which politics and cutthroat business tactics often overshadow the technical feats. In 1987, during the stone age of cellular phones, Motorola engineers proposed to make reception easy and universal through satellites. Rival systems were already in the works, and national phone monopolies hated competition. The 10 years before the 1997 launch, writes the author, were "full of treachery, deception, and espionage worthy of the Roman Senate at its worst, penetrating across borders, arousing the ire of nations, and often resulting in outright violations of the law." Nine months after beginning operation on Nov. 1, 1998, Iridium filed for bankruptcy. Mismanagement was a factor, but the phone itself, as large as a World War II walkie-talkie, cost $3,500 to buy and $4 to $7 per minute to use. From the mad scramble that followed emerged Bloom's hero: elderly, retired entrepreneur Dan Colussy, who managed to block Motorola's yearning to destroy the satellites, assemble investors, persuade government officials that Iridium was essential to U.S. security, and revive the service. Colussy's efforts, which take up the second half of the book, turn out to be no less gripping than Iridium's launch and flameout. A tour de force history of a star-crossed technological leap.COPYRIGHT(2016) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
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June 15, 2016
In his latest work, investigative journalist and author Bloom (Evidence of Love) tells the strange tale of the Iridium satellite constellation. Consisting of 66 satellites, Iridium is able to beam telephone calls and data across Earth's entire surface. Built on the technology of the Strategic Defense Initiative (popularly known as Star Wars), Iridium was launched by Motorola in November 1998. Unfortunately, it was immediately marred by numerous problems, including distribution issues, extremely high service costs, and huge debt. By August 1999--a mere nine months after its launch--Iridium filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Motorola prepared to deorbit the satellites, until retiree and former head of Pan Am Dan Colussy decided to get involved. With a steadfast effort and help from a diverse group of investors, Colussy eventually rescued Iridium from the brink. Bloom's account is readable and thorough; he provides a great deal of background information on satellites and biographical information on the key players. The work's title is appropriate, as the satellites are organized into six eccentric orbits that are slightly disinclined so that they do not collide with one another. Eccentric is a suitable term for many of the individuals involved with Iridium as well. VERDICT Bloom's well-researched work will appeal to those interested in business, science, and technology.--Dave Pugl, Ela Area P.L., Lake Zurich, IL
Copyright 2016 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
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Starred review from May 15, 2016
Smartphone users accustomed to texting their BFFs at a moment's notice may be surprised that cell-tower arrays provide coverage for a mere 15 percent of the Earth's surface. Fortunately, callers prosperous enough to afford a walkie-talkie-sized, satellite-linked handset can still phone home even in the remote outback or Alaskan wilderness. The surprising backstory behind this higher-tech option, however, is that it's only still available today because in 2000 a retired Pan Am CEO named Dan Colussy took desperate measures to keep the orbiting satellite constellation known as Iridium from being destroyed by its makers at Motorola, the Illinois-based telecommunications giant. In this revealing account of Iridium's troublesome history, Pulitzer-nominated journalist and author Bloom describes the successful launch of Motorola's plan for 66 globally connected satellites, the venture's disastrous commercial failure, and Colussy's quixotic but effective scheme to secure funding for Iridium's continuation from an assortment of investors in shipping, aviation, and the military. In his masterful history, Bloom skillfully spins a somewhat geeky topic into a riveting page-turner almost anyone can enjoy.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2016, American Library Association.)
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In the early 1990s, Motorola developed a revolutionary satellite system called Iridium that promised to be its crowning achievement. Its constellation of 66 satellites in polar orbit was a mind-boggling technical accomplishment, surely the future of communication. The only problem was that Iridium the company was a commercial disaster. Only months after launching service, it was $11 billion in debt, burning through $100 million a month and crippled by baroque rate plans and agreements that forced calls through Moscow, Beijing, Fucino, Italy, and elsewhere. Bankruptcy was inevitable—the largest to that point in American history. And when no real buyers seemed to materialize, it looked like Iridium would go down as just a “science... - sortTitle
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