Editing Teledesic (section)

==Description==
Announced in March 1994 as a [[satellite constellation]] with 840 satellites and initial $5 million investments from [[Bill Gates]] and [[Craig McCaw]],<ref name="wexler19940328">{{Cite magazine |last=Wexler |first=Joanne |date=1994-03-28 |title=Gates-McCaw network plan met with skepticism |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aBAEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA24#v=onepage&q&f=true |access-date=2024-12-31 |magazine=Network World |pages=1,58}}</ref> the Teledesic system would have provided "fiber-optic like" links to customers around the world. The system was to act as a network operator and support communications ranging from high-quality voice channels to broadband channels supporting video-conferencing, interactive multimedia, and real-time two-way data flow. Teledesic was notable for gaining early funding from Gates; McCaw, founder of [[McCaw Cellular Communications]]; and [[House of Saud|Saudi prince]] [[Alwaleed bin Talal]]. The system would have used [[Ka band]] to send and receive signals from users. Each satellite would have acted as a node in a large-scale packet-switching network. The service was planned to begin in 2002 with a total cost of the project estimated at US$9 billion.<ref name="Teledesic">{{cite web|url=https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraft/display.action?id=1998-012B|title=BATSAT: Display 1998-012A |date=17 April 2020|website=nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov|publisher=NASA|access-date=9 May 2020}} {{PD-notice}}</ref><ref name="Khan">{{cite book|last1=Khan|first1=Riz|title=Alwaleed, Businessman Billionaire Prince |date=2005|publisher=HarperCollins|location=New York|isbn=9780060850302|page=[https://archive.org/details/alwaleed00rizk_0/page/135 135]|url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/alwaleed00rizk_0/page/135}} </ref>

The satellites were [[Spacecraft attitude control|three-axis stabilized]] with a faceted antenna on the bottom and a large articulated solar panel on top. The spacecraft was designed to be compatible with over 20 different launch vehicles to permit launch option flexibility. The satellites were to be launched into a 700 km (400 mile) circular, near-polar (98.2°) [[Sun-synchronous orbit]]. The initial rollout was to include 12 orbit planes with 24 spacecraft in each plane. The [[Footprint (satellite)|antenna footprint]] for each satellite was to be about 700 km<sup>2</sup> (300 sq. mi.). Teledesic planned 288 satellites in 12 LEO orbits, each at an altitude of 1315 km (817 miles).

Many were immediately skeptical of the proposal. Describing Teledesic as absurd, Howard Anderson of the [[Yankee Group]] said that it was "a third-world solution at a first-world price. The developed world doesn't need it, and the underdeveloped world can't afford it". Larry Gessini of the International Communications Association was amazed by the proposal to launch 840 satellites. Andrew Seybold, consultant, doubted that Teledesic could get approval for spectrum around the world from the [[World Administrative Radio Conference]].{{r|wexler19940328}}