SpaceX is trying to rebound from per week of scuttled launches with a Falcon 9 launch from California. The Starlink 7-9 mission will feature one other batch of 21 satellites heading as much as low Earth orbit, something that has develop into almost routine for the corporate.
Nonetheless, this late night Thursday mission is exclusive in that it would include the primary six Starlink satellites that feature direct-to-cell capabilities. SpaceX stated that the brand new function “will enable mobile network operators world wide to offer seamless global access to texting, calling and browsing… on land, lakes or coastal waters.”
Liftoff of the Falcon 9 rocket supporting the mission is targeting the beginning of the launch window which opens at 9:04 p.m. PST (12:04 a.m. EST, 0504 UTC). Spaceflight Now can have live coverage of the mission starting about half-hour prior to liftoff.
This direct-to-cell promise for the Starlink network is the start of a promise announced by SpaceX founder Elon Musk during an event in August 2022 with T-Mobile CEO and President Mike Sievert at Starbase in Texas.
Musk described the aptitude as a “massive game changer” that may eliminate dead zones in even essentially the most distant parts of the world.
“This really is a giant deal,” Musk said in the course of the presentation. “Even when a complete region or country lost connectivity due to a severe hurricane or floods or fires or tornados, earthquakes… even when all of the cell towers were taken out, your phone would still work.”
In accordance with a Nov. 30, 2023, email sent to Kathyrn Medley, the acting division chief of the Federal Communication’s (FCC) Satellite Licensing Division, SpaceX anticipates launching “roughly 840 direct-to-cell capable satellites over the following 6 months, with additional launches continuing after that period.”
Jameson Dempsey, SpaceX’s director of satellite policy and the creator of the e-mail, wrote that the planned and future launches would “make sure that we are able to launch a critical mass of satellites in time to deliver industrial service later in 2024.”
“As such, while we understand that the Commission may limit our experimental authority to the satellites we expect to launch and testing the following 6 months, we request that the launch license include authority for all 7500 satellites in our direct-to-cell modification application,” Dempsey wrote.
Sievert noted in the course of the August 2022 event that the upcoming service within the U.S. would use the prevailing T-Mobile mid-band PCS spectrum.
“That enables us to then dedicate that, working together, to the constellation that Starlink operates in order that we’re seeing those satellites from every corner of the country,” Sievert said. “If you have got a transparent view of the sky, our vision is you’re connected.”
“Your phone doesn’t understand it’s connecting to space. It’ll scan for its home network, it’ll scan for terrestrial roaming partners as well,” Sievert added. “And if it fails to see those things, it would scan again and it would connect with the authorized connection from the satellite and it’ll think it’s connected to a cell tower because that phone is using industry standard technology communication protocols and it has the spectrum already in-built. No less than, the overwhelming majority of phones in circulation today do.”
Along with T-Mobile as a U.S. service provider, SpaceX said it has partnered with corporations in Australia, Canada, Japan, Latest Zealand and Switzerland.
Originally, the plan was to launch the service using the Starlink V2 satellites, which should find yourself hosting nearly all of the on-orbit antennas. Nonetheless, due to their size they would wish to launch using Starship.
Musk said during last 12 months’s event that the antenna could be about 5 – 6 meters on one side or roughly 25 square meters. He noted that the Starlink V2 Mini satellites would wish to work as a holdover solution, if Starship were “delayed longer than expected,” which turned out to be the case.
The six direct-to-cell satellites together with the 15 regular Starlink V2 Minis will launch aboard a Falcon 9 rocket with a brand latest first stage booster. Following stage separation, the booster will land on the droneship, “Of Course I Still Love You” out within the Pacific Ocean.
Based on the photo published by SpaceX, the payload fairings which can be housing the Starlink satellites are flight proven, but the corporate didn’t state prior to launch what number of missions they’ve flown.