In September this year, Starlink was officially made available in Zimbabwe. Starlink is SpaceX’s broadband satellite internet service. SpaceX today officially shared on X that Falcon 9 launched 20 Starlink satellites yesterday from California’s Vandenberg Space Force Base.
Falcon 9 launches 20 @Starlink satellites, completing the first orbital shell of our Direct to Cell constellation → https://t.co/RV4c2XquT0 pic.twitter.com/FKUeqxqkTD
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) December 5, 2024
Elon Musk also shared that the first Starlink satellite direct-to-cell phone constellation is now complete. This will enable unmodified cell phones to have internet connectivity in remote areas. Musk also revealed that the bandwidth per beam is only ~10Mb, but the future constellations are said to be much more capable.
Starlink uses a low Earth orbit (LEO) to deliver broadband internet that is capable of supporting streaming, online gaming, video calls, and more. It is said to deliver high-speed, low-latency internet to users across the world.
In an X post, SpaceX mentioned that on orbit, 13 direct-to-cell satellites will immediately connect over laser backhaul to the Starlink constellation, eliminating dead zones and providing peace of mind when customers need it most.
SpaceX has already launched more than 80 Starlink missions so far in 2024. As per a report by SpaceX, the LEO constellation currently consists of 6,799 operational spacecraft about 330 of which are direct-to-cell capable.
