Starlink, SpaceX’s powerful satellite internet network, faced a rare and dramatic disruption on Thursday, leaving thousands of users across the U.S., Europe, and war-hit Ukraine offline for hours. The outage, caused by a failure in Starlink’s internal software, triggered strong reactions as military operations and communications were briefly paralyzed. While service has since resumed, the unexpected blackout has cast a shadow over Starlink’s soaring reputation, raising serious questions about its reliability, security, and global dependence on a single private internet provider. SpaceX now vows a full investigation.

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• Starlink suffered a global outage Thursday, affecting users across U.S., Europe, and Ukraine

• Downdetector reported over 61,000 complaints during the incident

• Ukraine’s military reported communication disruption along frontlines

• Service restored after 2.5 hours; cause traced to internal software failure

• Elon Musk and SpaceX executives issued public apologies and pledged investigation

• Experts liken outage to CrowdStrike Windows crash; cyberattack not ruled out

• Starlink serves 6 million+ users in 140+ countries

• Starshield’s possible involvement remains unconfirmed

• Past decisions by Musk to limit service during wartime draw renewed attention

In a rare disruption to one of the world’s most robust satellite internet systems, SpaceX’s Starlink network experienced a significant global outage on Thursday, cutting off access for tens of thousands of users across multiple continents. The blackout, which lasted for approximately two and a half hours, disrupted services in the United States, Europe, and notably, across the Ukrainian frontlines, where the satellite internet is essential for battlefield communication.

Reports of the outage began to surface around 3 p.m. EDT (1900 GMT), according to Downdetector, a site that aggregates real-time user complaints regarding internet disruptions. At its peak, the platform recorded over 61,000 individual reports, making it one of the most notable service interruptions since the Starlink network began operating at scale.

In Ukraine, where the internet service plays a critical tactical role, the impact was particularly pronounced. Commander of Ukraine’s drone forces, Robert Brovdi, confirmed that the service had gone completely dark during critical military operations.

“Service was down across the entire front,” he stated, underlining the vulnerability that even a brief outage can cause in high-stakes environments.

SpaceX, in an initial post on its official X (formerly Twitter) account, acknowledged the outage and informed users that engineers were actively working to restore connectivity. Roughly two and a half hours after the service disruption began, Starlink’s Vice President of Engineering Michael Nicolls confirmed that services were mostly restored.

“The network issue has been resolved, and Starlink service has been restored,” Nicolls wrote later that evening.
He went on to clarify that the outage had been caused by a breakdown in critical software infrastructure.
“The outage was due to failure of key internal software services that operate the core network,” he said, while offering an apology and vowing a full root-cause investigation.

Elon Musk, the CEO of SpaceX, also addressed the issue on X, expressing regret over the disruption.

“Sorry for the outage. SpaceX will remedy root cause to ensure it doesn’t happen again,” Musk stated, attempting to reassure users amid growing scrutiny.

Although Starlink has become known for its reliability and cutting-edge agility in the satellite communications sector, the scale of this particular incident has prompted broader questions. Analysts say the service interruption marks one of the longest and most widespread in Starlink’s short but impactful history.

Doug Madory, director at internet analysis firm Kentik, remarked on the unusual severity of the outage.

“This is likely the longest outage ever for Starlink, at least while it became a major service provider,” he observed, noting that the duration and breadth of the incident were unprecedented.

Starlink, which launched commercially in 2020, has grown rapidly and now serves over 6 million users across more than 140 countries and territories. It has become not just a commercial internet solution for remote and rural regions, but a critical tool for militaries, emergency responders, and even maritime and aviation industries. The network’s low-Earth orbit satellite architecture has made it a disruptive force in traditional satellite internet markets.

In recent months, SpaceX has been upgrading its constellation with larger, more capable satellites to enable direct-to-cell text messaging, a service launched in partnership with T-Mobile. These enhancements are intended to allow users to send messages even in the most remote areas, bypassing traditional cellular networks.

Amid the speculation surrounding Thursday’s breakdown, some experts raised the possibility of a software update gone wrong or even a cyberattack.

“I’d speculate this is a bad software update, not entirely dissimilar to the CrowdStrike mess with Windows last year, or a cyberattack,” said Gregory Falco, director of a space and cybersecurity lab at Cornell University.

That CrowdStrike incident, which occurred in July 2024, disrupted systems across industries worldwide after a botched update to widely-used cybersecurity software. It led to major service interruptions, including flight cancellations and issues affecting millions of Microsoft Windows devices. The comparison suggests the potential scope of digital vulnerabilities in global service networks like Starlink.

There is still no clear information on whether Starshield, SpaceX’s satellite-based defense division, was affected. Starshield, which has secured billions in contracts with the Pentagon and U.S. intelligence agencies, relies heavily on the same infrastructure that supports Starlink.

In a separate development, Reuters reported on Friday that Musk had previously ordered a partial Starlink shutdown during a critical Ukrainian counteroffensive in September 2022, highlighting how the control and operation of such a service can directly influence geopolitical and military outcomes.

While Thursday’s incident may be viewed as an operational hiccup in an otherwise impressive track record, it also serves as a reminder: even the most advanced technologies can falter. The consequences of those failures — especially when millions rely on uninterrupted connectivity — are far-reaching and immediate.

The unexpected Starlink outage, though brief, exposed the delicate thread upon which millions of users — including critical military operations — now depend. As SpaceX races to investigate the software failure and strengthen its systems, the incident serves as a pointed reminder that even the most advanced networks remain vulnerable. With Starlink expanding its global footprint and influence, the world will be watching closely to see how the company addresses this wake-up call — not just with technical fixes, but with renewed focus on resilience, accountability, and trust.

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