On Tue, 10 Jul 2001 22:00:27 Tim May wrote:

Five dozen Iridium satellites were on the verge of being de-orbited when a buyer could not be found.

Yes they were. I think Iridium is something of a special case. It was in bankruptcy and any damage claim would probably have been classified as a general unsecured claim and not likely to recover anything. The ability to go after Motorola is limited. Some of the subordinated debt still trades, in the low single digits last time I checked, on the theory they may get a recovery from Motorola in a lawsuit. Also to preserve the value of the estate, or in this case not to further increase expenses a judge could overrule an insurance company objection. I didn't follow the Iridium proceeding that closely so I don't remember the details.

(Was this just jive? Possibly, but plans were underway and retro-rocket firing sequences were ready to go. Had the U.S.G. not arranged a deal to keep the system in operation for military/embassy/spook purposes, I expect the de-orbiting would have happened.)

The "act of God" argument is a weak one, anyway. Had Motorola and the other Iridium partners simply said "We'll trust in God and just let them fall where they may," I expect they would have been hit with lawsuits as bits of wreckage made it to the ground.

I recently read, and will look for the citiation, a proposal for an extendable tether which would be used to de-orbit satellites after their maneuvering fuel was used up. Apparently the insurance companies have shot it down for the "act of god" reason. The satellite operators could apparently use a controlled burn to bring it down with enough safety margin for some insurance companies to be comfortable but the fuel requirements are apparently substantial and appreciably shorten the satellite's life. Hence they choose to leave them up as junk rather than incur the costs necessary to bring them down in a fashion acceptable to the insurer who are on the hook if a controlled de-orbit hits something. Obviously in the case of Iridium the remaining life of the satellites was not a valuable asset until the buyer came forward.

A controlled de-orbiting over the Pacific was seen by them as the wiser choice.

--TIm May

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