December 5, 2024 marked a historic milestone for SpaceX. The company successfully launched 20 new Starlink satellites on a Falcon 9 rocket from the Vandenberg Spaceport, completing the first satellite network to provide direct connectivity to cell phones. So what happens now? Here are the details…
Starlink’s era of direct satellite connectivity for cell phones has officially begun: First satellites launched
Today, Elon Musk sent the first Starlink satellites into orbit on a Falcon 9 rocket, offering cellular satellite connectivity. He also shared the following words in his post on social media: “The first Starlink satellite constellation is complete, providing direct connectivity for cell phones. This technology will provide internet connectivity in remote areas, even with unmodified phones.”
First of all, the main goal of the new satellite technology is to help eliminate ‘dead zones’ on a global scale, without even requiring any hardware modifications to cell phones. While the initial connection speed is limited to 10 Mbps, Musk said that future satellite constellations will be much more powerful.
If we consider the details of the launch. In total, 13 satellites are said to be designed to provide direct connections to cell phones. In addition, there are currently 6,799 operational satellites in the Starlink constellation. About 330 of them are capable of direct connection to cell phones.
Elon Musk stated that a total of 80 different records were broken with these developments. So how effective do you think this technology can be in solving communication problems on a global scale? You can write your opinions in the comments section below.
