For a second time this 12 months, SpaceX is making ready to launch one other batch of Starlink satellites that assist its Direct to Cell functionality. The six spacecraft are among the many 21 complete satellites set to launch on Saturday, April 6, from Vandenberg Area Drive Base.
Liftoff of the Falcon 9 rocket from Area Launch Complicated 4 East (SLC-4E) is ready for 7:25 p.m. PDT (10:25 EDT, 0225 UTC). If wanted, SpaceX has backup alternatives in the course of the launch window that runs till 11:17 p.m. PDT (2:17 a.m. EDT, 0617 UTC).
Spaceflight Now could have reside protection starting about half-hour previous to liftoff.
The Falcon 9 first stage booster supporting this mission, tail quantity B1081 within the SpaceX fleet, will likely be launching for a sixth time. It beforehand supported the launches of NASA’s PACE spacecraft, the Crew-7 astronauts, CRS-29, Transporter-10 and Starlink Group 6-34.
A bit greater than eight minutes after liftoff, B1081 will land on the SpaceX droneship, ‘Of Course I Nonetheless Love You.’ This can mark the 88th touchdown on OCISLY and the 293rd booster touchdown up to now.
The mission may even mark a file turnaround time for the launchpad at SLC-4E. After usually taking at the least 5 days and a number of other hours to prepared the pad for a brand new launch, this mission might come as quickly as nearly 4 days after the earlier mission: Starlink 7-18.
Following January’s launch of the primary DTC Starlink satellites in January, SpaceX performed quite a lot of exams utilizing the budding service. These included sending textual content messages, making telephone calls and posting to social media.
In a publish on X, previously often called Twitter, SpaceX Vice President of Falcon Launch Automobiles, Jon Edwards, mentioned that many extra DTC satellites are coming within the first half of the 12 months.
“The Falcon and Starlink groups are working exhausting to get the primary direct-to-cell constellation up by the top of August,” Edwards wrote.
SpaceX simply achieved peak obtain velocity of 17Mb/s from satellite tv for pc direct to unmodified Samsung Android telephone pic.twitter.com/JqPHmkriv0
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 2, 2024
In an electronic mail to the Federal Communications Commissions’ (FCC) Satellite tv for pc Licensing Division, SpaceX director of satellite tv for pc coverage wrote that they’re aiming to launch 7,500 DTC Starlinks.
A number of SpaceX officers have acknowledged that they’re working to ship 28 Starlinks to low Earth orbit in a single launch by the top of the 12 months. To this point, they’ve launched a batch of 24 satellites as soon as again in February.
