Iridium constellation completion (1998)
Motorola spinoff Iridium completed a 66-satellite low-orbit network for global satellite phones at a cost of roughly $5 billion. Service launched in November 1998 with bulky handsets and high per-minute pricing.
The company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in August 1999, less than a year after service began, after enrolling only a fraction of projected subscribers.
Assets were sold for $25 million in 2001 and the network was rescued for defense customers. A re-capitalized Iridium has since flown a successor constellation and remains the dominant satellite phone provider.
A cautionary tale about completing an expensive global constellation just as the underlying market shifts. Viasat is finishing its geostationary system in an era when Starlink has already redefined what consumers expect from satellite broadband.