In 1982 David Thompson, Bruce Ferguson & Scott Webster founded
Orbital Sciences Corporation in Vienna, Virginia to design, manufacture and launch small- and medium- class
space and
rocket systems for commercial, military and other government customers.
In 1987 Orbital began investigating a system using
low Earth orbit (LEO) satellites to collect data from remote locations, and in 1990, Orbital filed the world's first license application with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) for the operation of a network of small LEO spacecraft
[6] to provide global satellite services of commercial messaging and data communications services via the company's ORBCOMM program.
By September 2020 the Wikipedia stated that the company, then called ORBCOMM, based in Rochelle Park, New Jersey, had evolved into a business "that offers industrial
Internet of things (IoT) and
machine to machine (M2M)
[1] communications hardware, software and services designed to track, monitor, and control fixed and mobile assets in markets including transportation, heavy equipment, maritime, oil and gas, utilities and government. The company provides hardware devices, modems, web applications and data services delivered over multiple satellite and cellular networks."
"As of April 2020, ORBCOMM has more than 2 million billable subscriber communicators,[2] serving original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), other companies such as larger grocers, transport companies.
"ORBCOMM owns and operates a global network of 31 low Earth orbit (LEO) communications satellites and accompanying ground infrastructure including 16 gateway Earth stations (GESs) around the world. ORBCOMM is licensed to provide service in more than 130 countries and territories worldwide." (Wikipedia article on Orbcomm, accessed 9-2020).
