June 8 (UPI) — On a cloudy morning Saturday, SpaceX launched 20 Starlink satellites from California, fewer than 12 hours after another Falcon 9 lifted 22 satellites from Florida.
The company launched the satellites, including 13 with direct to cell capabilities, at 5:58 a.m. from Pad 4E at Vandenberg Space Force Base. Two days earlier, SpaceX launched the fourth test flight of its Starship rocket from southern Texas.
Falcon 9’s first stage later landed on Of Course I Still Love You droneship, completing its 60th launch of the year.
On June 1, Michael Nicolls, SpaceX’s vice president of Starlink Engineering, said: “Thrilled to be growing our Direct to Cell constellation, we have now launched 64 sats, launching every few days! Excited to be offering commercial services with @TMobile this Fall in the US, offering ubiquitous coverage and peace of find wherever you may work, play, or travel.”
The capabilities include text, voice and data for LTE phones worldwide.
SpaceX also launched 20 satellites, including 13 with direct-to-cell capabilities, from Florida’s Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on Tuesday night.
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