Global failure of Elon Musk's Starlink satellite network on a global scale - Global satellite system experiences outage.
In an unexpected turn of events, Elon Musk's satellite internet service, Starlink, experienced a widespread global outage on July 24, 2025. The outage, which lasted approximately two and a half hours, began around 19:15 UTC and was fully resolved by 21:44 UTC the same day.
Starlink, operated by space company SpaceX, is a popular solution for areas without mobile phone reception and has become critical for various sectors. For instance, the Ukrainian army depends on Starlink due to the destruction of traditional telecommunications infrastructure. Similarly, airlines utilize Starlink's internet service for planes, making the outage a significant disruption.
The cause of the outage was identified as a failure of key internal software services managing the core network, likely related to software or configuration problems. This incident happened on the same day that Starlink launched a direct-to-device (D2D) satellite service with T-Mobile in the US, adding context to the timing of the disruption.
Elon Musk, the CEO of SpaceX, apologized for the interruption and assured that measures would be taken to prevent future outages. Starlink's Vice President of Engineering, Michael Nicolls, confirmed the outage and emphasized a commitment to fully investigate the root cause and prevent recurrence.
It's worth noting that this is not the first outage for the Starlink system, but they are relatively rare. The system consists of thousands of satellites orbiting the Earth at low altitudes, with customers using compact receiving and transmitting stations on the ground for service.
As of now, Starlink is fully operational following the incident, and there is no indication of ongoing issues or expected further downtime. Meanwhile, competition in the satellite communication service market is heating up, with Jeff Bezos's Project Kuiper, operated by space company Blue Origin, aiming to compete with Starlink. However, as Bezos is still in the early stages of Project Kuiper, Starlink remains the front-runner in this field.
In summary, while the global Starlink outage was a significant disruption, the company acted swiftly to identify and resolve the issue. Moving forward, Starlink is committed to ensuring the stability of its service and maintaining its critical role in various sectors.
I'm not going to be able to trust Starlink's service completely, given the recent global outage and the known occasions when such disruptions occur. Yet, I believe that advancements in science, space-and-astronomy, and technology, like the ones being made by projects such as Starlink and Project Kuiper, will eventually lead to more reliable satellite communication services.
