SpaceX F9 : Starlink group 17-25 : VSFB SLC-4E : 21 February 2026 (09:04 UTC)

[Galactic Penguin SST]

Thread for the Starlink Group 17-25 launch.

Launch 21 February 2026, at 09:04:19 UTC (1:04 am PST), from VSFB SLC-4E, on booster 1063-31. The first stage will land aboard Of Course I Still Love You.

Payload 25 Starlink V2.0 Mini satellites, to a 97.29 degrees inclination orbit on a southwestern trajectory.  Initial orbit 244 x 260 km.

Please use the Starlink Discussion Thread for all general discussion on Starlink.

Check the Starlink Index Thread for links to more Starlink information.


L2 SpaceX: https://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?board=60.0

[Galactic Penguin SST]

https://www.spacex.com/launches/sl-17-25

SpaceX’s Falcon 9 is targeting the launch of 25 Starlink satellites to low-Earth orbit from Space Launch Complex 4 East (SLC-4E) from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.

A live webcast of this mission will begin about five minutes prior to liftoff, which you can watch here and on X @SpaceX. You can also watch the webcast on the X TV app.

This is the 31st flight for the first stage booster supporting this mission, which previously launched Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich, DART, Transporter-7, Iridium OneWeb, SDA-0B, NROL-113, NROL-167, NROL-149, NAOS, and 20 Starlink missions. Following stage separation, the first stage will land on the Of Course I Still Love You droneship, which will be stationed in the Pacific Ocean.

There is the possibility that residents of Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, and Ventura counties may hear one or more sonic booms during the launch, but what residents experience will depend on weather and other conditions.

[zubenelgenubi]

https://www.spacex.com/launches/sl-17-25

SpaceX’s Falcon 9 is targeting the launch of 25 Starlink satellites to low-Earth orbit from Space Launch Complex 4 East (SLC-4E) from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.

A live webcast of this mission will begin about five minutes prior to liftoff, which you can watch here and on X @SpaceX. You can also watch the webcast on the X TV app.

This is the 31st flight for the first stage booster supporting this mission, which previously launched Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich, DART, Transporter-7, Iridium OneWeb, SDA-0B, NROL-113, NROL-167, NROL-149, NAOS, and 20 Starlink missions. Following stage separation, the first stage will land on the Of Course I Still Love You droneship, which will be stationed in the Pacific Ocean.

There is the possibility that residents of Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, and Ventura counties may hear one or more sonic booms during the launch, but what residents experience will depend on weather and other conditions.

18 February 08:00 to 12:00 UTC = 18 Feb 12:00 to 4:00 am PST
B1063-31

[Steven Pietrobon]

PDF of online press kit.

[raptorx2]

Just some fun facts from the earlier January Group 17 launches. 
Here is the orbital orientation of the  recent Polar Launches Group 17-30, 17-20, and 17-19.

All appear to be making home in VLEO @335km, which has been reserved for Direct to Cell up to this point.  They only have NASA clearance to operate just over 1,000 payloads in VLEO.

The second photo is the orientation of Group 17-1 to 17-12 which are operating at Gen. 1 560km elevation.

[catdlr]

Here is a consolidated post of available video links for this launch:

SpaceX's direct live broadcast on
Website:  https://www.spacex.com/launches/sl-17-25
 Twitter:  https://x.com/i/broadcasts/1OyKAjLPeQbGb

SpaceX Re-broadcast alternatives on YouTube: 
Space Affairs:  https://www.youtube.com/@Space-Affairs/streams

There is no planned NSF Live coverage. Alternate Pre-Launch Coverage:  https://youtube.com/watch?v=ISsbI85skm4

Replay supplied by The Space Devs (15 min after the broadcast end):  https://youtube.com/@thespacedevs/videos

Summary Video provided by SciNews (15 min after the broadcast ends):  https://youtube.com/@SciNewsRo/videos



Launch Opportunities:  https://celestrak.org/NORAD/elements/supplemental/

[zubenelgenubi]

https://celestrak.org/NORAD/elements/supplemental/
Supplemental GP Element Sets
Current as of 2026 Feb 16 23:20:29 UTC (Day 047)

Starlink G17-25 Pre-Launch   
Derived from a pre-launch Starlink-G17-25 state vector, provided by SpaceX. SupGP data is provided for the entire stack, as well as one for a single satellite.

Launch: 2026-02-19 08:00:00 UTC.
Deploy: 2026-02-19 09:02:06.540 UTC.
Launch window: 2026-02-19 08:00:00 UTC to 2026-02-19 12:00:00 UTC.

https://celestrak.org/NORAD/elements/supplemental/table.php?FILE=starlink-g17-25&FORMAT=tle
Pre-Launch Derived Orbit:
244 km x 260 km x 97.29 deg

[zubenelgenubi]

The listings at https://compass.atfm.aero/vpublic_anspdetail.jsp?view=15 have appeared.

Primary Launch Day 19 FEB 0800Z-1243Z
Backup Launch Day 20 FEB 0800Z-1243Z
Backup Launch Day 21 FEB 0800Z-1243Z
Backup Launch Day 22 FEB 0800Z-1243Z
Backup Launch Day 23 FEB 0800Z-1243Z
Backup Launch Day 24 FEB 0800Z-1243Z
Backup Launch Day 25 FEB 0800Z-1243Z

Two differing launch windows from two sources.
https://www.spacex.com/launches/sl-17-25 has 20 February 08:00 to 12:00 UTC = 12:00 midnight to 4:00 am PST.

https://celestrak.org/NORAD/elements/supplemental/ has
Supplemental GP Element Sets
Current as of 2026 Feb 17 19:20:28 UTC (Day 048)

Starlink G17-25 Pre-Launch   
Derived from a pre-launch Starlink-G17-25 state vector, provided by SpaceX. SupGP data is provided for the entire stack, as well as one for a single satellite.

Launch: 2026-02-19 09:01:20 UTC.
Deploy: 2026-02-19 10:03:26.540 UTC.
Launch window: 2026-02-19 09:01:20 UTC to 2026-02-19 09:01:49 UTC.

Backup Launch Opportunity #1   
Launch: 2026-02-19 10:09:10 UTC.
Deploy: 2026-02-19 11:11:16.540 UTC.
Launch window: 2026-02-19 10:09:10 UTC to 2026-02-19 10:09:49 UTC.

Backup Launch Opportunity #2   
Launch: 2026-02-19 10:09:50 UTC.
Deploy: 2026-02-19 11:11:56.540 UTC.
Launch window: 2026-02-19 10:09:50 UTC to 2026-02-19 10:13:29 UTC.

Backup Launch Opportunity #3   
Launch: 2026-02-19 10:57:30 UTC.
Deploy: 2026-02-19 11:59:36.540 UTC.
Launch window: 2026-02-19 10:57:30 UTC to 2026-02-19 10:58:29 UTC.

Backup Launch Opportunity #4   
Launch: 2026-02-19 11:10:30 UTC.
Deploy: 2026-02-19 12:12:36.540 UTC.
Launch window: 2026-02-19 11:10:30 UTC to 2026-02-19 11:11:49 UTC.

Backup Launch Opportunity #5   
Launch: 2026-02-19 11:11:50 UTC.
Deploy: 2026-02-19 12:13:56.540 UTC.
Launch window: 2026-02-19 11:11:50 UTC to 2026-02-19 11:15:29 UTC.

Later today, now identical information:
https://celestrak.org/NORAD/elements/supplemental/
Supplemental GP Element Sets
Current as of 2026 Feb 18 02:17:02 UTC (Day 049)

Starlink G17-25 Pre-Launch   
Derived from a pre-launch Starlink-G17-25 state vector, provided by SpaceX. SupGP data is provided for the entire stack, as well as one for a single satellite.

Launch: 2026-02-20 08:00:00 UTC.
Deploy: 2026-02-20 09:02:06.540 UTC.
Launch window: 2026-02-20 08:00:00 UTC to 2026-02-20 12:00:00 UTC.

[alexthespacebot]

Did the previous Vandenburg Starlink launch have those Starship TPS tiles on the fairing?

[catdlr]

Did the previous Vandenburg Starlink launch have those Starship TPS tiles on the fairing?

No.

https://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?topic=64293.msg2760824#msg2760824

[alexthespacebot]

Did the previous Vandenburg Starlink launch have those Starship TPS tiles on the fairing?

No.

https://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?topic=64293.msg2760824#msg2760824

Wonder if they got the data they needed.

[catdlr]

Maybe related to the delay, posting here for reference.

🏳️‍🌈Alejandro Alcantarilla Romera (Alex)
@Alexphysics13
Integrated Falcon 9 fairing and Starlink stack rolling back after having gone to the pad earlier this week for the Starlink 10-36 mission. This Starlink and another one from Vandenberg have both delayed almost 1:1 and now this... Maybe there's an issue?

https://twitter.com/Alexphysics13/status/2024150468885135371

[zubenelgenubi]

https://www.spacex.com/launches/sl-17-25 has 21 February 08:00 to 12:00 UTC = 12:00 midnight to 4:00 am PST.


Celestrak still has the launch on 20 February UTC.
https://celestrak.org/NORAD/elements/supplemental/
Supplemental GP Element Sets
Current as of 2026 Feb 18 19:35:20 UTC (Day 049)

Starlink G17-25 Pre-Launch   
Derived from a pre-launch Starlink-G17-25 state vector, provided by SpaceX. SupGP data is provided for the entire stack, as well as one for a single satellite.

Launch: 2026-02-20 09:05:40 UTC.
Deploy: 2026-02-20 10:07:46.740 UTC.
Launch window: 2026-02-20 09:05:40 UTC to 2026-02-20 09:06:29 UTC.

Backup Launch Opportunity #1   
Launch: 2026-02-20 09:06:30 UTC.
Deploy: 2026-02-20 10:08:36.740 UTC.
Launch window: 2026-02-20 09:06:30 UTC to 2026-02-20 09:07:49 UTC.

Backup Launch Opportunity #2   
Launch: 2026-02-20 09:07:50 UTC.
Deploy: 2026-02-20 10:09:56.740 UTC.
Launch window: 2026-02-20 09:07:50 UTC to 2026-02-20 09:08:59 UTC.

Backup Launch Opportunity #3   
Launch: 2026-02-20 09:55:30 UTC.
Deploy: 2026-02-20 10:57:36.740 UTC.
Launch window: 2026-02-20 09:55:30 UTC to 2026-02-20 09:56:29 UTC.

Backup Launch Opportunity #4   
Launch: 2026-02-20 10:05:40 UTC.
Deploy: 2026-02-20 11:07:46.740 UTC.
Launch window: 2026-02-20 10:05:40 UTC to 2026-02-20 10:08:29 UTC.

Backup Launch Opportunity #5   
Launch: 2026-02-20 10:08:30 UTC.
Deploy: 2026-02-20 11:10:36.740 UTC.
Launch window: 2026-02-20 10:08:30 UTC to 2026-02-20 10:09:49 UTC.

Backup Launch Opportunity #6   
Launch: 2026-02-20 10:09:50 UTC.
Deploy: 2026-02-20 11:11:56.740 UTC.
Launch window: 2026-02-20 10:09:50 UTC to 2026-02-20 10:13:29 UTC.

Backup Launch Opportunity #7   
Launch: 2026-02-20 10:57:30 UTC.
Deploy: 2026-02-20 11:59:36.740 UTC.
Launch window: 2026-02-20 10:57:30 UTC to 2026-02-20 10:58:49 UTC.

Backup Launch Opportunity #8   
Launch: 2026-02-20 11:13:00 UTC.
Deploy: 2026-02-20 12:15:06.740 UTC.
Launch window: 2026-02-20 11:13:00 UTC to 2026-02-20 11:15:29 UTC.

[zubenelgenubi]

https://celestrak.org/NORAD/elements/supplemental/
Supplemental GP Element Sets
Current as of 2026 Feb 19 02:17:09 UTC (Day 050)

Starlink G17-25 Pre-Launch   
Derived from a pre-launch Starlink-G17-25 state vector, provided by SpaceX. SupGP data is provided for the entire stack, as well as one for a single satellite.

Launch: 2026-02-21 09:00:00 UTC.
Deploy: 2026-02-21 10:02:06.740 UTC.
Launch window: 2026-02-21 09:00:00 UTC to 2026-02-21 09:04:19 UTC.

Backup Launch Opportunity #1   
Launch: 2026-02-21 09:10:40 UTC.
Deploy: 2026-02-21 10:12:46.740 UTC.
Launch window: 2026-02-21 09:10:40 UTC to 2026-02-21 09:11:29 UTC.

Backup Launch Opportunity #2   
Launch: 2026-02-21 09:57:10 UTC.
Deploy: 2026-02-21 10:59:16.740 UTC.
Launch window: 2026-02-21 09:57:10 UTC to 2026-02-21 09:57:59 UTC.

Backup Launch Opportunity #3   
Launch: 2026-02-21 09:58:00 UTC.
Deploy: 2026-02-21 11:00:06.740 UTC.
Launch window: 2026-02-21 09:58:00 UTC to 2026-02-21 10:08:29 UTC.

Backup Launch Opportunity #4   
Launch: 2026-02-21 10:08:30 UTC.
Deploy: 2026-02-21 11:10:36.740 UTC.
Launch window: 2026-02-21 10:08:30 UTC to 2026-02-21 10:09:49 UTC.

Backup Launch Opportunity #5   
Launch: 2026-02-21 10:09:50 UTC.
Deploy: 2026-02-21 11:11:56.740 UTC.
Launch window: 2026-02-21 10:09:50 UTC to 2026-02-21 10:11:49 UTC.

Backup Launch Opportunity #6   
Launch: 2026-02-21 10:56:20 UTC.
Deploy: 2026-02-21 11:58:26.740 UTC.
Launch window: 2026-02-21 10:56:20 UTC to 2026-02-21 10:58:19 UTC.

[ChrisC]

NSF's D Wise appears to be onsite to cover this launch!  Triangulating from that photo, maybe out on the water?

https://x.com/dwisecinema/status/2025061141446353313

https://twitter.com/dwisecinema/status/2025061141446353313

[ChrisC]

NSF's coverage, starting at 12:04am PT:

https://youtube.com/watch?v=RMZdxpWNcq4

[catdlr]

Updated with NSF Live coverage link:

Here is a consolidated post of available video links for this launch:

SpaceX's direct live broadcast on
Website:  https://www.spacex.com/launches/sl-17-25
 Twitter:  https://x.com/i/broadcasts/1OyKAjLPeQbGb

SpaceX Re-broadcast alternatives on YouTube: 
Space Affairs:  https://youtube.com/watch?v=ISsbI85skm4

NSF Live coverage. https://youtube.com/watch?v=RMZdxpWNcq4
Alternate Pre-Launch Coverage:  https://youtube.com/watch?v=iAcq-UGCm2o

Replay supplied by The Space Devs (15 min after the broadcast end):  https://youtube.com/@thespacedevs/videos

Summary Video provided by SciNews (15 min after the broadcast ends):  https://youtube.com/@SciNewsRo/videos


Launch Opportunities:  https://celestrak.org/NORAD/elements/supplemental/

[catdlr]

Weather: COLD 39deg F at launch.

[catdlr]

T-45 min

[catdlr]

Hazard zones