SpaceX launched its latest batch of 21 Starlink satellites on Thursday evening using a Falcon 9 from California.
The Falcon 9 rocket launch set a new record for Vandenberg Space Force Base. It was the first time 31 orbital missions were launched in a calendar year. Thirty of those launches were conducted by SpaceX and one by Firefly Aerospace.
The Starlink 9-6 mission launched from Space Launch Complex 4 East (SLC-4E) at 6:45 p.m. PDT (9:45 p.m. EDT, 1:45 a.m. UTC).
The Falcon 9 first stage booster 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 launch, B1071 landed on the SpaceX drone ship “Of Course I Still Love You.” This was the 101st landing on OCISLY and the 348th booster landing to date.
Among the 21 Starlink satellites, 13 have direct-to-cell capabilities. With this launch, SpaceX will have a total of 207 of these satellites capable of delivering signals to regular cell phones. According to orbital tracker and astronomer Jonathan McDowell, there are currently more than 6,400 Starlink satellites in orbit.
Dragon Demo
A few hours after launch from California, four astronauts will conduct a unique demonstration of the technology in low Earth orbit. The Starlink demonstration will take place on the fourth flight day of the Polaris Dawn mission.
The Crew Dragon Resilience spacecraft contains a Starlink Wi-Fi router that is connected to a laser system called “Plug and Plaser” embedded in the Dragon’s hull.
“You’d think getting internet would be as simple as flipping a switch and turning on the internet, but it’s not. We’re talking about a laser sending information to a Starlink satellite that’s moving at orbital speed to Earth and then back again,” said Sarah Gillis, Polaris Dawn mission specialist and SpaceX engineer. “It’s been an incredible feat of engineering by the SpaceX team and I’ve personally been particularly interested in this feat of engineering 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! Please enjoy two recent photos from our mission and stay tuned for our next message 🎶
Sent to you from space via a Starlink laser beam 🛰️ – Crew of Polaris Dawn pic.twitter.com/KkeZw1yAoT
— Polaris (@PolarisProgram) 12 September 2024
As a precursor to the official demonstration, the Polaris program published a post on X (formerly Twitter) saying that the two embedded images of the crew and Earth were sent via Starlink.
Part of the goal of the Polaris program is to support St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. To that end, they are also bringing Starlink internet service to some of their locations around the world. They have brought Starlink terminals to schools and hospitals in developing countries to improve their connectivity.
