Software failure triggers widespread global outage on SpaceX’s Starlink network

SpaceX’s Starlink internet service experienced a rare and significant international outage on Thursday, affecting tens of thousands of users and marking one of the most severe disruptions the satellite network has faced since its launch.

Beginning around 3 p.m. EDT, users in the United States and Europe started reporting connection failures. According to outage tracker Downdetector, more than 61,000 reports were submitted as the issue spread rapidly across regions.

Starlink, which serves over 6 million users in around 140 countries, later confirmed the outage via its official X (formerly Twitter) account. “We are actively implementing a solution,” the company posted.

Michael Nicolls, vice president of Starlink Engineering, followed up with more detail. “The outage was due to failure of key internal software services that operate the core network,” he wrote on X, while assuring users that service had mostly resumed within two and a half hours. “Apologies for the disruption, and we are working to determine the root cause.”

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk also apologised for the downtime. “Sorry for the outage. SpaceX will remedy root cause to ensure it doesn’t happen again,” Musk posted on X.

The widespread disruption raised speculation about whether it was caused by an internal glitch, a failed software update, or even a cyberattack. Doug Madory, director of internet analysis at Kentik, noted the unusual scale of the incident. “This is likely the longest outage ever for Starlink, at least while it became a major service provider,” he said.

With Starlink’s user base expanding rapidly, SpaceX has intensified its efforts in recent months to scale up network capacity and performance. The company is also collaborating with T-Mobile to launch direct-to-cell text messaging, aimed at improving emergency connectivity in remote locations.

Since 2020, SpaceX has launched over 8,000 Starlink satellites into low-Earth orbit, creating a distributed broadband network that has gained strong traction with defence agencies, transport firms and consumers in rural areas with limited internet access.