Elon Musk’s satellite internet service, Starlink, faced a significant network outage on Thursday, lasting roughly two and a half hours and disrupting connectivity for tens of thousands of users. Downdetector, a platform that tracks service interruptions, recorded over 60,000 outage reports at the peak of the incident, highlighting the widespread impact.
Starlink operates under SpaceX, the aerospace company also led by Musk. At approximately 4:30 p.m. Eastern Time, Musk took to his social media platform X to acknowledge the disruption and apologize to affected users, assuring them that the service would be restored shortly.
By 6:23 p.m., Michael Nicolls, SpaceX’s vice president of Starlink engineering, posted on X that the network had “mostly recovered” from the outage. A couple of hours later, Starlink confirmed that full service had been restored to all users.
This outage occurred as Starlink’s direct-to-cell-phone service, a partnership with T-Mobile branded as T-Satellite, continues to expand rapidly across the U.S. This service aims to provide mobile connectivity in regions that lack access to traditional cellular towers, offering an essential solution for remote and underserved areas. Throughout the outage, T-Mobile’s satellite-powered phone service reportedly operated without issues.
Despite its rapid growth, recent studies have pointed out that Starlink’s internet speeds and reliability tend to decline as more users join the network, due to increased demand and limited satellite bandwidth. This outage underscores the technical challenges involved in scaling a satellite internet network while maintaining consistent performance.
Musk’s social media platform, X—which he acquired after purchasing Twitter in 2022 for $44 billion—has also faced multiple outages in recent months. The platform experienced disruptions earlier in July and in May. After the May incident, Musk acknowledged the need for “major operational improvements” to boost reliability.
Thursday’s Starlink outage highlights the complexities of delivering high-quality satellite internet amid a growing customer base. While the technology promises to bridge connectivity gaps in hard-to-reach locations, maintaining steady and reliable service remains a key challenge for Starlink and its parent company, SpaceX.
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