这或许是历史上最大的技术冒险。设想一下这样的情景 :6 6颗卫星在距地面几百英里的太空 ,每颗以 1 70 0 0英里的时速运行 ,比波音喷气客机快约 34倍。让这些卫星接收世界各地的电话信号并顺利地将信号传送到目的地 ,其潜在用户是近 6 0亿的地球居民。铱星公司已投资近 5 0亿美 This is perhaps the largest technical adventure in history. Imagine a scenario where 6 6 satellites travel hundreds of miles from the ground, each operating at 17,000 miles a kilometer, about 34 times faster than a Boeing jetliner. Allowing these satellites to receive telephone signals from around the world and successfully transmit their signals to their destinations, their potential users are nearly 6 billion inhabitants of the Earth. Iridium has invested nearly 5 billion US dollars