Updated at 9:31pm ET: SpaceX has adjusted its estimated launch time.
SpaceX is wasting no time in starting what is set to be a historically busy year for orbital launches. The company launched its flagship rocket, the Falcon 9, on a Starlink satellite mission Tuesday night.
The launch took place at 7:44 PM PT (10:44 PM ET, 0344 UTC) from Space Launch Complex 4 East (SLC-4E) at Vandenberg Space Force Base, California.The first six of the 21 Starlink satellites to be launched on Tuesday night will be Direct connection to the cell ability.
The launch was originally planned for mid-December, but SpaceX encountered an undisclosed issue during launch preparations and had to abort the mission.
SpaceX said in a statement that the addition of DTC will “enable mobile network operators around the world to provide seamless global access to texting, calling, and browsing on land, lakes, and coastal waters.” Ta.
During an August 2022 event featuring SpaceX founder Elon Musk and T-Mobile CEO and president Mike Siebert, Musk talked about the new product addition as a “great deal” that will help eliminate dead zones around the world. “A massive game changer.”
“This is a really big deal,” Musk said during his presentation. “If an entire region or country loses connectivity due to a severe hurricane, flood, fire, tornado, or earthquake, your phone will still work, even if all cell towers are removed.”
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According to an email sent on November 30, 2023 to Kathryn Medley, Acting Director of the Federal Communications (FCC) Satellite Licensing Division, SpaceX announced that it would have “approximately 840 direct cell capable aircraft over the next six months. “We will launch a satellite,” he said. Additional launches will continue after that period. ”
Jameson Dempsey, SpaceX’s director of satellite policy and author of the email, said the planned launches and future launches “will allow us to deliver a critical mass of satellites in time for commercial service in late 2024.” It is guaranteed that we will be able to launch.”
“Therefore, while we understand that the European Commission may limit our testing privileges to satellites we plan to launch and test within the next six months, the launch license does not include a direct modification application to the cell. “We request that the document include authority over all 7,500 satellites,” Dempsey wrote.
6 people @starlink Satellites participating in this mission with Direct to Cell capabilities will enhance global connectivity and help eliminate dead zones → https://t.co/FgiJ7LOYdK pic.twitter.com/zFy7SrpsYs
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) January 3, 2024
Sievert said at an event in August 2022 that future service in the U.S. will use existing T-Mobile mid-band PCS spectrum.
“This will allow us to work together and dedicate it to the constellation of satellites operated by Starlink, and to be able to see those satellites from every corner of the country,” Siebert said. said. “Our vision is that if you can see the sky clearly, you are connected.”
“Your phone doesn’t know it’s connected to space. It scans your home network and also scans your terrestrial roaming partners,” Sievert said. Added. “And if it doesn’t recognize them, it scans again and connects to an authorized connection from the satellite. Cell phones also use industry-standard technical communication protocols, and the spectrum is already built in. At least in the majority of phones currently in circulation.”
The Falcon 9 rocket supporting Tuesday’s launch carries a first stage booster, tail number B1082, that will be launched for the first time on this mission. Approximately eight and a half minutes after liftoff, the booster will land on the droneship “Of Course I Still Love You.”