Starlink Experiences Major Global Outage Due to Internal Software Failure
SpaceX’s Starlink satellite internet service, led by Elon Musk, suffered one of its most widespread global outages on Thursday, leaving tens of thousands of users across the U.S. and Europe temporarily offline. The outage was caused by a failure of key internal software services, according to Starlink’s engineering team.
Over 61,000 Users Report Disruption
According to outage tracker Downdetector, reports began flooding in around 3 p.m. EDT (1900 GMT), with over 61,000 users affected. The issue was later confirmed by Starlink on its X (formerly Twitter) account, stating:
“We are actively implementing a solution.”
The service resumed after 2.5 hours, according to Michael Nicolls, Vice President of Starlink Engineering. He confirmed that a core network software failure was responsible and apologised for the disruption.
Elon Musk Apologises, Vows Long-Term Fix
Elon Musk, CEO of SpaceX, issued a public apology on X, promising to identify and fix the root cause:
“Sorry for the outage. SpaceX will remedy root cause to ensure it doesn’t happen again.”
The incident was highly unusual for Starlink, which has built a reputation for reliability and rapid global expansion since launching in 2020.
Experts Speculate on Software Glitch or Cyberattack
Industry experts speculated whether the disruption stemmed from a botched software update or a cyberattack. Doug Madory of internet analysis firm Kentik noted:
“This is likely the longest outage ever for Starlink, at least while it became a major service provider.”
Gregory Falco, director of Cornell’s Space and Cybersecurity Lab, compared the incident to the 2024 CrowdStrike software update error that crippled Microsoft Windows systems worldwide.
Growing Pressure as Starlink Scales Globally
With over 6 million users in 140+ countries, Starlink has rapidly expanded to become a critical global internet provider, especially in rural and underserved regions. The network consists of 8,000+ satellites in low-Earth orbit, and its reliability is essential for users ranging from consumers to the military.
SpaceX is currently enhancing its infrastructure to handle rising bandwidth and speed demands. A T-Mobile partnership aims to deliver direct-to-cell satellite text messaging, targeting emergency communications in remote areas.
Impact on Starshield and Government Contracts Unclear
The outage raised concerns over potential ripple effects on Starshield, SpaceX’s military satellite division. Starshield supports U.S. defence and intelligence agencies through multi-billion-dollar contracts, and it remains uncertain if those services were also disrupted.
