What was that lightshow in Southern California sky? Hawthorne-based SpaceX launches first 2024 trek

Hawthorne-based SpaceX launched its first mission of 2024 on Tuesday, Jan. 2, from Space Launch Complex 4 East at Vandenberg Space Force Base in Santa Barbara County, setting off a night-time light show for Southern Californians.

The Falcon 9 rocket carried 21 Starlink satellites including six with Direct to Cellular abilities. The speeding spacecraft was visible all over the region, including over Royal Palms Beach Park in San Pedro, as it traveled past the Palos Verdes Peninsula.

The mission launched successfully at at 7:44 p.m. PT, Falcon 9 launched 21 Starlink satellites to low-Earth orbit from Space Launch Complex 4 East (SLC-4E) at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.

SpaceX is renowned for reusing rockets, but this was the first flight for the first-stage booster.

The company said Direct to Cell capabilities enable mobile network operators around the world to “provide seamless global access to texting, calling, and browsing wherever you may be on land, lakes, or coastal waters without changing hardware or firmware.”

The enhanced Starlink satellites have “an advanced modem that acts as a cellphone tower in space, eliminating deadzones with network integration similar to a standard roaming partner,” a company statement said.

Partnering with SpaceX on the mission are T-Mobile in the U.S., Rogers in Canada, KDDI in Japan, Optus in Australia, One NZ in New Zealand, Salt in Switzerland and Entel in Chile and Peru.