Sorry, Phil, missed your post last week.Yes, Quadrant subsidiary...

Sorry, Phil, missed your post last week.

Yes, Quadrant subsidiary Bareena Holdings Pty Ltd did acquire its holding “on the cheap” as you say. And yes, the lifespan of the satellites was a consideration I explored as well.

Turns out, there was a good deal of ‘over-engineering’ went into the design of the hardware – no one team wanting to be responsible for the early demise of the system.

The designers of the propulsion sub-system, for example, sent aloft 30kg of fuel per satellite. Given that maintaining orbits requires only between 1-1.5Kg of fuel per year, you can gauge the redundancy built into system. This is true of all the sub-systems, I am told.

A report by the respected Aerospace Corp, a firm often used by the US government for military and other work, gave the expected lifespan as between 2012 and 2014.

Besides the 66 Boeing-maintained satellites already in orbit, Iridium has, I believe, 13 spares.

Meanwhile, Iridium for the first time reported “break even” for the September quarter last year.

With two other divisions set to make profits this year, Quadrant looks to me on a risk/reward basis at 4c, to have the goods. Unlocking the value of the Iridium asset provides the blue sky - and that is very deep blue sky!

I still say it is one to keep your eye on.