Starlink Global Outage Disrupts Satellite Internet Worldwide
SpaceX’s Starlink satellite internet service, a critical connectivity lifeline for millions across more than 140 countries, suffered one of its most significant international outages on Thursday. The disruption, which began around 3:15 p.m. Eastern Time (1900 GMT), affected residential, enterprise, and government users on multiple continents, including North America, Europe, Asia, and Australia. The outage lasted approximately two and a half hours, resulting in widespread loss of connectivity for tens of thousands of users.
Data from network monitoring group NetBlocks revealed a dramatic drop in Starlink’s global connectivity, with overall traffic plunging to just 16 percent of typical levels during the outage. Downdetector, a popular outage tracking service, registered as many as 61,000 user reports related to the incident, highlighting the scale and breadth of the disruption.
Starlink, which currently has more than six million users worldwide, operates a vast network of over 8,000 low-Earth orbit satellites launched since 2020. The system has become especially vital in regions where traditional fiber-based internet infrastructure is lacking or has been compromised, such as rural and remote communities, transportation industries, and conflict zones. In Ukraine, for example, Starlink has become an essential component of battlefield communications, supporting coordination on the frontline amid persistent attacks on ground-based telecommunications.
The cause of Thursday’s outage was identified as a failure of internal software services responsible for the operation of Starlink’s core network. According to sources familiar with the incident, a software update triggered the malfunction, temporarily rendering significant portions of the satellite mesh network unable to communicate with each other or with ground stations. This led to a sudden and severe drop in service availability, which experts in internet infrastructure and cybersecurity described as one of the most extensive interruptions in Starlink’s operational history.
The disruption impacted a broad spectrum of users. Residential customers, businesses, and government agencies in areas heavily dependent on Starlink experienced immediate connectivity loss. Industries that require constant, reliable communication—such as mining, maritime operations, and emergency services—were among those affected. In rural and remote regions, where Starlink often represents the sole high-speed internet option, the outage caused significant delays and communication breakdowns.
This incident comes at a time when Starlink has been rapidly expanding both its user base and the technological capabilities of its network. Recent months have seen an intensified focus on upgrading the system to meet increasing demands for higher speed and greater bandwidth. The company also recently launched its Direct-to-Device (D2D) service in partnership with T-Mobile in the United States, aiming to extend satellite-based connectivity to mobile devices for emergency text messaging in underserved areas.
The outage has raised questions among industry analysts and stakeholders regarding the resilience of satellite-based internet networks, especially as reliance on such systems continues to grow. While Starlink’s distributed architecture has been credited with providing robust, low-latency connectivity even in challenging environments, the scale and duration of this failure underscore the ongoing risks posed by software vulnerabilities in critical digital infrastructure.
SpaceX has indicated that it is conducting a comprehensive investigation to identify the root cause of the outage and has pledged to implement measures to prevent similar incidents in the future.
