[Satellite Today 10-08-09] The International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators (IAATO) approved a resolution requiring members’ passenger ships to be fitted with satellite tracking devices based on Iridium, Iridium said Oct. 6. The devices will report ships’ positions at least once per hour when cruising in Antarctic waters.

            Global Marine Networks, an Iridium value-added reseller, is supplying its XTracker satellite position reporting system for installation on the vessels. XTracker uses Iridium’s short-burst data service to transmit position reports from the ships at sea to a shore-based server, which can be accessed through a secure Internet connection by ship operators, search-and-rescue authorities and other authorized users.

            “We have developed an outstanding working relationship with IAATO and its members over the last several years,” Luis Soltero, CTO of Global Marine, said in a statement. “Many IAATO members are already using XTracker, and we welcome IAATO’s decision to require our Iridium-based tracking systems on the growing number of ships sailing in the beautiful — but hazardous — waters of the Antarctic.”

Iridium, GHL Close Merger Transaction   Satellite Today   October 1, 2009
[Satellite TODAY 10-01-09] Iridium Holdings and GHL Acquisition Corp. have closed their merger transaction, Iridium announced Sept. 30. As a result of the merge, GHL Acquisition s new name will be Iridium Communications Inc. and will trade on…

Iridium Forms Two-Way Emergency Tracking Advocacy Alliance   Satellite Today   September 21, 2009
[Satellite TODAY 09-21-09] Iridium Satellite has partnered with mobile satellite industry companies and the emergency response community to form the Promotion of Two-way Emergency Communication and Tracking Systems (ProTECTS) alliance, Iridium…

Beam Communications Receives Iridium Certification for SatDock 9555   Satellite Today   September 18, 2009
[Satellite TODAY 09-18-09] Iridium Satellite has certified Beam Communications SatDock 9555 fully-integrated docking station for the Iridium 9555 satellite phone, Beam announced Sept. 16. The SatDock aims to enable ease-of-use for the Iridium…