SpaceX launches Starlink satellites to higher orbit on Group 4-8 mission

SpaceX launched a set of Starlink satellites Feb. 21 after more than three-fourths of the satellites from the previous launch were lost because of a solar storm.

This was the first launch since a Feb. 3 mission that placed 49 Starlink satellites into orbit. However, the company announced five days later that up to 40 of them would reenter because of a solar storm that increased atmospheric drag at the low altitudes the satellites were placed into, keeping their electric propulsion systems from raising their orbits. Ultimately 38 of the 49 satellites reentered.

Another set of Starlink satellites is scheduled to launch as soon as Feb. 25 on a Falcon 9 from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.BCS Bureau