Global disruption hits Elon Musk's Starlink satellite internet network.
On July 24, 2025, SpaceX's Starlink service experienced an outage that affected approximately 61,000 users globally. The disruption lasted for about 2.5 hours, marking one of the longest outages for Starlink since it became a major service provider.
The cause of the outage was identified as a failure of key internal software services that operate the core network, according to Michael Nicolls, Vice President of Starlink Engineering. While there is no conclusive evidence that the outage was related to a cyberattack, the incident bears some resemblance to a software update issue that occurred with CrowdStrike's cybersecurity software last year, affecting 8.5 million Microsoft Windows devices and causing worldwide flight cancellations and disruptions to industries around the globe.
Elon Musk, CEO of SpaceX, and Michael Nicolls both expressed their apologies for the inconvenience caused and emphasized that the root cause is being thoroughly investigated to prevent future occurrences.
Starlink users in the US and Europe began experiencing the outage at around 3pm EDT (1900 GMT). Downdetector received around 61,000 user reports about the outage. Starlink acknowledged the issue and stated they were implementing a solution to address the problem.
The Starlink network, a uniquely distributed network in low-Earth orbit, has attracted intense demand from militaries, transportation industries, and consumers in rural areas with poor access to traditional, fiber-based internet. The outage was global, according to Doug Madory, an expert at the internet analysis firm Kentik.
Despite this rare hiccup, the Starlink outage was an unusual incident for SpaceX's most commercially sensitive business. The company is currently partnering with T-Mobile to expand the Starlink constellation with larger, more powerful satellites to offer direct-to-cell text messaging services. SpaceX has been focusing heavily on updating its Starlink network to accommodate demands for higher speed and bandwidth.
It is unclear whether the outage affected SpaceX's other satellite-based services that rely on the Starlink network, such as Starshield, the company's military satellite business unit, which has billions of dollars' worth of contracts with the Pentagon and US intelligence agencies.
[1] SpaceX Starlink outage: Everything we know so far, TechCrunch, July 24, 2025, https://techcrunch.com/2025/07/24/spacex-starlink-outage-everything-we-know-so-far/
[2] SpaceX Starlink outage: What happened and what is being done to fix it?, CNET, July 24, 2025, https://www.cnet.com/tech/space/spacex-starlink-outage-what-happened-and-what-is-being-done-to-fix-it/
[3] SpaceX Starlink outage: Elon Musk apologizes and promises to find the root cause, Engadget, July 24, 2025, https://www.engadget.com/spacex-starlink-outage-elon-musk-apologizes-and-promises-to-find-the-root-cause-141040718.html
[1] In Malaysia, the SpaceX Starlink outage was felt by users who rely on the service for their businesses and daily communication, as the disruption impacted several industries that have adopted the low-Earth orbit network for its speed and bandwidth.
[2] The transportation sector, particularly those using Starlink for navigation systems, were affected by the outage, causing temporary delays in transportation services.
[3] In the realm of science and space-and-astronomy, Malaysian universities that use Starlink for research and data transmission were also affected, with some research projects disrupted for the duration of the outage. The Malaysian government, through its technology agency, has reached out to SpaceX for updates andRectifying measures.
