SpaceX launched its latest batch of 21 Starlink satellites on a Falcon 9 launch Thursday night from California.
The Falcon 9 rocket launch set a new record for Vandenberg Space Force Base, marking the first time 31 orbital missions have been flown in a calendar year. Thirty of those launches were from SpaceX and one from Firefly Aerospace.
Liftoff for the Starlink 9-6 mission from Space Launch Complex 4 East (SLC-4E) occurred at 6:45 p.m. PDT (9:45 p.m. EDT, 0145 UTC).
The Falcon 9 first-stage rocket supporting this mission, tail number B1071 in the SpaceX fleet, launched for the 18th time. It previously flew three missions for the National Reconnaissance Office (NROL-87, NROL-85, and NROL-146), two rideshare missions (Transporter-8 and Transporter-9), and ten Starlink missions.
Just over eight minutes after liftoff, B1071 landed on SpaceX’s unmanned spacecraft ‘Of Course I Still Love You.’ This was the 101st landing on OCISLY and the 348th rocket landing to date.
Among the 21 Starlink satellites, 13 include Direct to Cell capabilities. With this launch, SpaceX will have a total of 207 of these satellites capable of providing signals to conventional cell phones. According to orbital tracking expert and astronomer Jonathan McDowell, there are currently more than 6,400 Starlink satellites in orbit.
Dragon demonstration
A few hours after launch from California, four astronauts orbiting in low Earth orbit will perform a unique demonstration of the technology. The Starlink demonstration will take place on the fourth flight day of the Polaris Dawn mission.
A Starlink WiFi router sits inside the Crew Dragon Resilience spacecraft, which is connected to a laser system built into the Dragon's trunk called a “Plug and Play” system.
“You might think getting internet is as easy as flipping a switch and turning it on, but that’s not the case. We’re talking about a laser sending information to a Starlink satellite moving at orbital speed, toward Earth and then back,” said Sarah Gillis, Polaris Dawn mission specialist and SpaceX engineer. “It’s been an incredible development effort by the SpaceX team, and I’ve personally taken a special interest in this development effort and we have a special message that we’re going to share with the world, using this technology.”
Hello Earth –
We are so grateful for all the support! Enjoy two recent photos from our mission and stay tuned for our next message 🎶
Sent from space via a Starlink laser beam 🛰️ – Polaris Dawn Crew photo.twitter.com/KkeZw1yAoT
— Polaris (@PolarisProgram) September 12, 2024
In a precursor to the formal demonstration, the Polaris Program shared a post on X, formerly Twitter, saying that the two integrated images of the crew and Earth were sent via Starlink.
Part of the Polaris Program's goal is to support St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, and to do so, they are also bringing Starlink Internet service to some of their facilities around the world. They brought Starlink terminals to schools and hospitals in developing countries to bolster their connectivity.
