A SpaceX rocket launched a new batch of Starlink satellites into orbit on Tuesday ( Feb. 11 ) as the spaceflight company’s space-based internet service begins direct-to-cell service with T-Mobile.
21 Starlink satellites were launched into space from Space Launch Complex 40 at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida aboard the SpaceX Falcon 9 spacecraft. Liftoff occurred on time at 1: 53 p. m. EST ( 1853 GMT ).
The launch on Tuesday came less than 24 hours after another ships launched on Monday night ( this time from California’s Vandenberg Space Force Base ), as the company continues to build a sizable online satellite star in low Earth orbit. T-Mobile, a companion, announced on Sunday that the Starlink-based phone internet service was now in beta testing and that paid service would start in July.
The first and only space-based wireless networking in the US to instantly connect to your phone, according to T-Mobile President and CEO Mike Sievert, . It’s a significant technological breakthrough and a game-changer for all wireless users.
In August 2022, T-Mobile and SpaceX first made plans for the space-to-phone online company public. Since then, SpaceX has been gradually adding direct-to-phone ready spacecraft into its Starlink ship. In fact, 13 for satellites were among the 21 Starlink satellites launched on Tuesday. On Sunday, T-Mobile ran an advertisement for its Starlink telephone service in a Super Bowl commercial.
A Falcon 9 rocket booster returning to Earth for a landing was likewise present at Tuesday’s release, which is now well known.
The Falcon 9 boost, designated B1077, the second phase of the two-stage jet, made its 18th round to place on Tuesday. Ten Starlink missions, two NASA cargo missions ( one with a and the other with a Northrop Grumman Cygnus ), four satellites for business or U.S. military customers, and NASA’s Crew-5 astronaut mission, all of which were to the International Space Station ( ISS).
The Falcon 9 boost successfully landed on the droneship Really Read The Instructions, which was stationed in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Florida while the rocket was waiting for its return about eight days after reentry.
Tuesday’s release marked the 19th Falcon 9 launch for SpaceX of 2025, 13 of them carrying Starlink cargo. According to scientist and dish tracker Jonathan McDowell, SpaceX now has about 6, 990 Starlink satellites in orbit as of this launch.