Update 4:04 a.m. EST (0904 UTC): SpaceX has postponed the mission launch time.
SpaceX is preparing to bolster the direct-to-cell component of its Starlink constellation with a Falcon 9 launch in the early hours of Monday morning.
After a launch from Vandenberg Space Force Base late Friday evening, SpaceX will send another 23 Starlink V2 mini satellites into low Earth orbit. The Starlink 12-1 mission is scheduled to launch from Pad 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station at 5:02 a.m. EST (1002 UTC).
Spaceflight Now’s live broadcast begins about an hour before launch.
The forecasts for the start are excellent. The 45th Weather Squadron expects no weather-related restrictions and a greater than 95 percent chance of good conditions at takeoff.
The Falcon 9 first stage booster supporting this mission, tail number B1080 in the SpaceX fleet, will launch for the 13th time. It previously supported the European Space Agency’s (ESA) Euclid launches, four missions to the International Space Station (Axiom-2, Axiom-3, NG-21 and CRS-30), SES 24 and six previous Starlink missions.
Assuming a launch on the announced date, B1080 will break SpaceX’s previous record for first-stage booster turnaround time by almost a week. A launch at 4:35 a.m. EST (0935 UTC) would mean a flight time of 13 days, 12 hours, 7 minutes and 50 seconds.
Just over eight minutes after launch, B1080 will land on the SpaceX Just Read the Instructions drone ship. If successful, this would be the 99th booster landing on JRTI and the 374th booster landing to date.
Direct to Cell is coming soon
The launch of the direct-to-cell portion of SpaceX’s Starlink constellation was a major milestone for the company during 2024. After announcing in August 2022 and partnering with T-Mobile, SpaceX has been steadily launching DTC Starlink satellites throughout the year.
The company’s first launch of the year, Starlink 7-9, on January 2, 2024, carried six DTC Starlink satellites into low Earth orbit. Since then, there have been 26 more launches with these satellites on board, including Starlink 9-3, which failed to reach orbit due to an upper stage anomaly.
After the launch of Starlink 9-13 late Friday evening, Ben Longmier, senior director of satellite engineering at SpaceX, said in a post
However, while most DTC Starlink missions launched at an inclination of 53 degrees, the Starlink 12-1 mission launches at an inclination of 43 degrees. It wasn’t immediately clear whether Monday’s launch would allow SpaceX to hit the benchmark Longmier cited.
1 launch left to complete the first commercial Direct to Cell orbital shell. https://t.co/ci3kl4vKO4
— Ben Longmier (@longmier) November 24, 2024
In a post on
“We will continue to roll out and improve the service thereafter to improve coverage and latency for our partner telcos around the world,” Longmier said in a post on X.
What consumers should expect when DTC features are first introduced, Longmier responded to a user
