The global satellite internet service Starlink experienced a widespread outage, which, according to the publication PCMag, was triggered by a network infrastructure update.
On the evening of July 24, Starlink access was interrupted for several hours worldwide. Initially, SpaceX, the service operator, reported a failure in core internal software services without specifying details. However, the company later provided a more detailed explanation in a message to its partners regarding the incident.
In a letter addressed to Starlink terminal distributors, SpaceX clarified that a network infrastructure update was being performed just before the disruption. The problems emerged unexpectedly due to a “rare combination of factors,” which ultimately led to the entire system rebooting during the traffic distribution across its computing infrastructure.
PCMag reporters highlighted that the outage occurred during peak hours for many US users, leaving them without internet access. SpaceX successfully restored service for the majority of its customers in approximately 2.5 hours.
On the same day, July 24, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk issued an apology to Starlink users for the system disruption. He assured the public that the company`s engineers would thoroughly investigate the root cause to prevent similar incidents from recurring in the future.
Rupert Blackwood 
Barnaby Whitfield