SpaceX is set to launch a Falcon 9 rocket with another 20 Starlink satellites from California Sunday night.
The Starlink 9-11 mission will feature 13 satellites that include Direct to Cell capabilities. Liftoff from Space Launch Complex 4 East (SLC-4E) from Vandenberg Space Force Base is set for 9:53 p.m. PST (12:53 a.m. EST, 0553 UTC).
Spaceflight Now will have live coverage beginning about 30 minutes prior to launch.
The Falcon 9 first stage booster supporting this mission, tail number B1071 in the SpaceX fleet, will launch for an 20th time. It previously launched two rideshare missions (Transporter-8 and Transporter-9), three national security missions (NROL-85, NROL-87 and NROL-146) and 12 Starlink missions.
A little more than eight minutes after liftoff, B1071 will land on the SpaceX droneship, ‘Of Course I Still Love You.’ If successful, this will be the 109th landing on OCISLY and the 370th booster landing to date.
The payload on this flight includes 13 Starlink satellites that have Direct to Cell capabilities. Following the launch of Starlink 9-11 on Nov. 14, Ben Longmier, the senior director of satellite engineering at SpaceX, said there were “three more launches to complete the first satellite constellation for Starlink Direct to Cell.”
3 more launches to complete the first satellite constellation for @Starlink Direct to Cell. https://t.co/Vczdet1Qqx
— Ben Longmier (@longmier) November 14, 2024
