Update on Iridium Satellite Constellation

BETHESDA, MD – February 13, 2009 – Iridium Satellite LLC announces that it has completed its service hole patch in relation to its recent satellite loss.  The company announced on February 11, 2009 that it lost an operational satellite as the result of a collision with a non-operational Russian satellite.  The company also announced that the satellite loss may have resulted in very limited service disruption in the form of brief, occasional outages.  Though the satellite loss has had minimal impact on Iridium’s service, the company has taken immediate action to address any impact.  The Iridium service hole patch addresses a significant portion of outages that customers otherwise might have experienced. 

Due to the mesh design of the Iridium network, the company expects further impact to customers to be limited.  The company also is taking the necessary steps to replace the lost satellite with one of its in-orbit spares, and the operational planning stage is underway.  In addition, Iridium is continuing to work with the appropriate government agencies to gather additional information about the collision.  

About Iridium Satellite LLC
Iridium Satellite LLC (www.iridium.com) is the only mobile satellite service (MSS) company offering coverage over the entire globe.  The Iridium constellation of low-earth orbiting (LEO), cross-linked satellites provides critical voice and data services for areas not served by terrestrial communication networks.  Iridium's subscriber growth has been driven by increasing demand for reliable, global communications. Iridium serves commercial markets through a worldwide network of hundreds of distributors, and provides services to the U.S. Department of Defense, and other U.S. and international government agencies. The company's customers represent a broad spectrum of industry, including maritime, aeronautical, government/defense, public safety, utilities, oil/gas, mining, forestry, heavy equipment and transportation. Iridium has launched a major development program for its next-generation satellite constellation, Iridium NEXT, which will result in continued and new Iridium MSS offerings.  The company is headquartered in Bethesda, Md. and is currently privately held.

Contact:
Liz DeCastro
Iridium Satellite LLC
301-571-6257 (w)
301-461-3704 (m)
liz.decastro@iridium.com