SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket will be launching a new batch of Starlink satellites into low Earth orbit on Saturday, August 27, from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.
The instantaneous launch window is at 10:22 p.m. ET (02:22 UTC on August 28). A live webcast of this mission will begin about five minutes prior to liftoff.
The Falcon 9’s first stage booster supporting this mission previously launched CRS-24. Following stage separation, the first stage will return to Earth and land on the A Shortfall of Gravitas droneship stationed in the Atlantic Ocean.
Static fire test complete – targeting Saturday, August 27 at 10:22 p.m. ET for a Falcon 9 launch of 54 Starlink satellites to orbit from SLC-40 in Florida; team is keeping an eye on weather
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) August 25, 2022
Starlink is SpaceX’s constellation of internet satellites in low Earth orbit, that provide high-speed, low-latency broadband internet across the world, enabling video calls, online gaming, streaming, and other high data rate activities that historically have not been possible with satellite internet.
Earlier this week, SpaceX, in partnership with T-Mobile, announced plans to increase connectivity. Leveraging Starlink and T-Mobile’s wireless network, the two companies are planning to provide customers text coverage practically everywhere in the continental US, Hawaii, parts of Alaska, Puerto Rico and territorial waters, even outside the signal of T-Mobile’s network.
To provide the new service, the companies will create a new network, broadcast from Starlink’s satellites using T-Mobile’s mid-band spectrum nationwide. This satellite-to-cellular service will provide nearly complete coverage almost anywhere a customer can see the sky, the companies said.
The service will be offered starting with a beta in select areas by the end of next year after SpaceX’s planned satellite launches.
