On Wed, Nov 27, 2013 at 7:11 PM, JOHN HALPENNY <j.halpenny@xxxxxxxxxx> wrote: > Have any of these satellites tried to pass data on to a phone network in > order to get results down without waiting for a pass? Or is it: > - technically difficult? > - expensive? > - just not worth the trouble? (4) regulatorily difficult - at least that was the main reason why we (Planet Labs) didn't go with Iridium etc. You need a whole different set of (expensive) licenses from the FCC for space-to-space, and you have to convince Iridium that it's worthwhile doing their end of that process for what is a relatively small customer. But it certainly is appealing, particularly for low-rate telemetry and commanding. It would be great to have your satellite phone home seconds after it's deployed from the launcher. Henry