Fifteen OneWeb Internet satellites, one OneWeb test satellite and five Iridium 9 L-band satellites will travel to low Earth orbit.
SpaceX successfully launched six direct-to-cell satellites used by T-Mobile and other wireless carriers into Earth orbit earlier this week.
The Elon Musk-led aerospace company said the Starlink direct-to-cell satellites feature technology that “acts like a cell tower in space” and helps eliminate cell phone dead zones.
According to SpaceX, they launched late Tuesday from California aboard a Falcon 9 rocket along with 15 other Starlink satellites.
| ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| TMUS | T-MOBILE US INC. | 162.30 | +0.22 | +0.14% |
T-Mobile said it will begin field testing the service “soon.” The company said that customers will initially only have SMS coverage.
SpaceX headquarters in Hawthorne, California, April 19, 2022. (Alisha Jucevic/Bloomberg via Getty Images / Getty Images)
WHERE ELON MUSK USED THE SPACEX STARLINK SERVICE IN EMERGENCY SITUATIONS
Mike Katz, T-Mobile's president of marketing, strategy and products, called the launch a “pivotal moment for this groundbreaking alliance with SpaceX and our global partners around the world as we work to make dead zones a thing of the past.”
T-MOBILE is cutting 5,000 jobs to increase efficiency
The mobile operator first partnered with SpaceX for direct-to-cell in August 2023.
The T-Mobile logo in Chicago on October 19, 2022. (Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto/Getty Images)
SpaceX says six other companies have plans to use the technology. According to the company, these include Rogers in Canada, KDDI in Japan, Optus in Australia, One NZ in New Zealand, Salt in Switzerland and Entel in Chile and Peru.
Those who use it “have access to reciprocal global access in all partner countries,” SpaceX said on its website.
“The [technology] will enable cellular connectivity anywhere on Earth,” Musk wrote on his social media platform. “It's not really competitive with existing terrestrial cellular networks.”
Elon Musk speaks onstage during the 2023 New York Times Dealbook Summit at Jazz at Lincoln Center on November 29, 2023 in New York City. (Slaven Vlasic/Getty Images for The New York Times/Getty Images)
SpaceX will bring voice, data and other services directly to the mobile network next year.
SPACEX LAUNCHES X-37B ABOARD A HEAVY ROCKET FALCON AT KENNEDY SPACE CENTER
According to the aerospace company, it will eventually use its reusable Starship rocket for direct-to-cell satellites.
SpaceX has so far carried out 297 launches of various types. The latest mission, Ovzon 3, was launched from Florida on Wednesday.