SpaceX to lose up to 40 Starlink satellites after geomagnetic storm

Elon Musk's firm says 80% of the satellites it launched last week are expected to burn up instead of reaching orbit

SpaceX will lose up to 40 of the 49 Starlink satellites it launched last week as the result of a geomagnetic storm, the company has announced.

Elon Musk's firm launched the satellites into low-Earth orbit on 3 February from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, but 80% of them are now expected to burn up instead of reaching their intended orbit.