Falcon 9 launch of Starlink satellites from Vandenberg announced for Wednesday afternoon

VANDENBERG SPACE FORCE BASE, Calif. – SpaceX announced a Falcon 9 launch window from Vandenberg Space Force Base on Wednesday, Dec. 4 starting at 4:06 p.m. and lasting until 8:06 p.m.

The Falcon 9 launch is to carry 20 Starlink satellites, including 13 with Direct to Cell capabilities, into a low-Earth orbit from Space Launch Complex 4 East.

Additional launch opportunities have been designated in case of cancellation on Thursday, Dec. 5.

The image below demonstrates the Direct to Cell capabilities courtesy of SpaceX.

Following first-stage separation, the Falcon 9 booster will return to Earth to land on the Of Course I Still Love You drone ship awaiting in the Pacific Ocean shown in the SpaceX provided image below.

This will be the 12th mission for the Falcon 9 booster which previously launched: Crew 7, CRS-29, NROL-186, EarthCARE, PACE, Transporter-10, and five previous Starlink mission.