Name of Iridium
Iridium was originally planned to have 77 active satellites, and named after the element with 77 electrons (count the
electron shells to get 77 when the atom is not bonded. Iridium also has an atomic number of 77 resulting from its 77
protons; the idea of electrons orbiting the nucleus being analogous to satellites orbiting the earth is tenuous, thanks to
Heisenberg's uncertainty principle.)
Iridium was later redesigned to need fewer satellites - the 66 active satellites of today. (We're not counting in-orbit or
ground spares.) But its name hasn't been changed to Dysprosium, the element with 66 protons and often 66 surrounding
electrons whose Latin root means 'bad approach'...