On July 24th, local time, the satellite internet system “Starlink” operated by SpaceX experienced a massive network service interruption lasting approximately 2.5 hours, marking one of the largest international failures in the history of the system. Such an interruption is extremely rare. According to reports, on the same day, the Starlink system used by Ukrainian forces at the frontline of the conflict with Russia ceased to function.
▲Photo credit: Visual China
The fault tracking platform Downdetector reported that users in the United States and Europe began experiencing connectivity issues around 3 PM Eastern Time (19:00 Greenwich Mean Time), with the platform receiving up to 61,000 user reports.
It was later confirmed by the company’s social media accounts that this issue had occurred, and the company stated, “We are actively implementing solutions.”
Michael Nicholls, Vice President of the Starlink project, stated that network services had essentially resumed after 2.5 hours. Nicholls apologized for the interruption and promised to identify the root cause of the problem, “This failure was due to a critical internal software service responsible for the core network failing.”
Elon Musk also issued an apology, writing on X Platform, “I deeply apologize for this failure, SpaceX will fix and resolve the root cause of the incident to ensure such events do not occur again.”
According to previous news reports, Musk had expressed through social media that he would not cut off the Starlink satellite network services to Ukraine regardless of his disagreement with Ukrainian policies. “My ‘Starlink’ system is a pillar for the Ukrainian military. If I shut it down, their entire front line would collapse.”
Internet analysis expert Douglas Madoc believes that this failure is global in scope and represents a very rare occurrence, “This could be the longest-lasting failure since Starlink became a major provider.”
Gregory Falco, Director of the Space and Cybersecurity Lab at Cornell University, speculated that the failure might have been caused by a failed software update, similar to last year’s CrowdStrike Windows issue or possibly a cyber attack. Last July, due to a security software update by CrowdStrike causing global flight cancellations and affecting multiple industries, affecting 8.5 million Microsoft Windows devices.
It remains unclear whether this failure has impacted other services of SpaceX that rely on the Starlink network. The company’s military satellite business division, Starshield, has signed multi-billion dollar contracts with the Pentagon and US intelligence agencies.
Red Star News, Wang Yalin, Intern Yang Shiruo