Starlink Group 7-9

Six of the 21 Starlinks aboard this mission carried something the others did not: a Direct-to-Cell transponder. On 3 January 2024, Group 7-9 lifted from Vandenberg, and those six satellites became the first operational D2C units in the constellation — designed to connect directly with unmodified LTE handsets rather than requiring specialized terminal hardware. Standard mobile phones, already in use on Earth, were the intended receiver.

The initial capability was text messaging only. SpaceX had partnered with T-Mobile and other carriers to route signals through the D2C layer, with voice and data planned to follow as more satellites were added. The six units on this flight were the proof of population: the first in what would become a dedicated D2C orbital shell.