SpaceX Launches Six Starlink Direct To Cell First To Orbit

SpaceX launches Starlink (photo: Twitter @SpaceX)

JAKARTA SpaceX launched the first six Starlink satellites with Direct to Cell capabilities. Unlike other Starlinks, this satellite is designed to connect directly to smartphones.

The six satellites that have been launched are part of the ability testing. SpaceX has obtained an experimental license so that the six Starlink Direct to Cells were launched alongside fifteen Starlink V2 Mini.

With a total of twenty-one satellites, Starlink was launched from Vandenberg Space Force Base, California on Wednesday, January 3 at 10.45 WIB. All of these satellites were delivered to orbit using a Falcon 9 rocket.

According to SpaceX, Starlink Direct to Cell innovation is capable of providing 4G LTE connectivity and maintaining the network wherever users are. Internet access from this satellite is claimed to be quite smooth, both for sending text, sound, and data.

Meanwhile, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk said that the connectivity from Starlink Direct to Cell is able to reach all devices in various parts of the world. In fact, this network is able to reach areas that cannot be reached by terrestrial networks.

This only supports 7MB perbeam and its beam is huge. Although this is a great solution for locations that do not have cellular connectivity, it is not very competitive with existing terrestrial cellular networks," Musk explained through his social media accounts.

For now, SpaceX will observe transmission from Starlink that has been sent into orbit. Although currently the number of Starlink Direct to Cells has only reached six in orbit, the company plans to expand it on a larger scale.