Latest news with #StarlinkEngineering
Canada News.Net
19 hours ago
- Business
- Canada News.Net
Starlink hit by hours-long outage, raising concerns over resilience
HAWTHORNE, California: Elon Musk's Starlink, known for its reliability and rapid global expansion, faced a rare and widespread disruption on July 24 when an internal software failure took the satellite internet network offline for tens of thousands of users around the world. The outage, which began around 3 p.m. EDT (1900 GMT), triggered more than 61,000 reports on Downdetector, a website that tracks service interruptions. The disruption affected users across the U.S. and Europe and lasted roughly 2.5 hours. Starlink, which has over six million users in approximately 140 countries and territories, acknowledged the issue on its X account and said it was "actively implementing a solution." The company later confirmed the service had resumed. Michael Nicolls, vice president of Starlink Engineering, said the cause was a failure of "key internal software services that operate the core network." He apologized for the disruption and said efforts were underway to identify and fix the root cause. Elon Musk also apologized on X, writing: "Sorry for the outage. SpaceX will remedy the root cause to ensure it doesn't happen again." The failure marked one of Starlink's largest-ever outages and sparked questions about the satellite system's resilience. The system has become increasingly critical for global connectivity in underserved regions. Doug Madory, an analyst at internet monitoring firm Kentik, described the incident as "likely the longest outage ever for Starlink" since it became a major player in the internet services space. The scale of the disruption led some experts to speculate on whether it was triggered by a faulty update or possibly even a cyberattack. "I'd speculate this is a bad software update, not entirely dissimilar to the CrowdStrike mess with Windows last year, or a cyberattack," said Gregory Falco, director of a space and cybersecurity lab at Cornell University. While no evidence has surfaced suggesting malicious activity, the failure raises concerns as SpaceX expands Starlink's scope. The company is launching larger satellites as part of a partnership with T-Mobile to offer direct-to-cell services, including emergency messaging from rural areas. Since 2020, SpaceX has launched more than 8,000 Starlink satellites, creating a vast constellation in low-Earth orbit that provides internet access to both consumers and critical sectors such as military and maritime operations. It remains unclear whether the outage impacted Starlink-powered services under SpaceX's Starshield unit, which holds major contracts with the U.S. government and military. While service was quickly restored, the rare failure highlights how even the most advanced networks can falter, and just how dependent the world has become on space-based connectivity.
Indian Express
3 days ago
- Business
- Indian Express
SpaceX probes for cause of Starlink's global satellite network outage
SpaceX's Starlink satellite network was back up and running on Friday as engineers hunted for the root cause of one of its biggest international outages the night before, a rare disruption for the powerful internet system set off by an internal software failure. Users in the U.S. and Europe began experiencing the outage at around 3 p.m. EDT (1900 GMT) Thursday, according to Downdetector, a crowdsourced outage tracker that said as many as 61,000 user reports to the site were made. In Ukraine, where troops rely heavily on Starlink for battlefield communications, the outage affected combat operations as service was 'down across the entire front,' said Robert Brovdi, the commander of Ukraine's drone forces. Starlink, active in roughly 140 countries and territories and used by a growing number of militaries and government agencies, is a key source of revenue for Elon Musk's SpaceX. The network has grown rapidly since 2020 into a disruptive force in the satellite communications industry. Starlink acknowledged the outage on its X account Thursday and said 'we are actively implementing a solution.' The service mostly resumed after 2.5 hours, Michael Nicolls, SpaceX vice president of Starlink Engineering, wrote on X. By 8 p.m., the company wrote on X that the 'network issue has been resolved, and Starlink service has been restored.' 'The outage was due to failure of key internal software services that operate the core network,' Nicolls said, apologizing for the disruption and vowing to find its cause. Musk also apologized: 'Sorry for the outage. SpaceX will remedy root cause to ensure it doesn't happen again,' the SpaceX CEO wrote on X. The outage was a rare hiccup for SpaceX's most commercially sensitive business. Experts speculated whether the service, known for its resilience and speedy development, was beset by a glitch, a botched software update or perhaps a cyberattack. Doug Madory, an expert at the internet analysis firm Kentik, said such a sweeping global outage was unusual. 'This is likely the longest outage ever for Starlink, at least while it became a major service provider,' Madory said. As Starlink amasses more than 6 million users, SpaceX has focused in recent months on updating its network to accommodate demands for higher speed and bandwidth. The company, in a partnership with T-Mobile, is also expanding the constellation with larger, more powerful satellites to offer direct-to-cell text messaging services, a line of business in which mobile phone users can send emergency text messages through the network in rural areas. SpaceX has launched more than 8,000 Starlink satellites since 2020, building a uniquely distributed network in low-Earth orbit that has attracted intense demand from militaries, transportation industries and consumers in rural areas with poor access to traditional, fiber-based internet. 'I'd speculate this is a bad software update, not entirely dissimilar to the CrowdStrike mess with Windows last year, or a cyberattack,' said Gregory Falco, director of a space and cybersecurity laboratory at Cornell University. An update to CrowdStrike's widely used cybersecurity software led to worldwide flight cancellations and impacted industries around the globe in July last year. The outage disrupted internet services, affecting 8.5 million Microsoft Windows devices. It was unclear whether Thursday's outage affected SpaceX's other satellite-based services that rely on the Starlink network. Starshield, the company's military satellite business unit, has billions of dollars' worth of contracts with the Pentagon and U.S. intelligence agencies. Separately, Reuters reported on Friday that Musk ordered a partial shutdown of Starlink during a pivotal push by Ukraine to retake territory in its war with Russia in late September 2022.
Observer
3 days ago
- Business
- Observer
Musk's Starlink network suffers rare global outage
SpaceX's Starlink suffered one of its biggest international outages on Thursday when an internal software failure knocked tens of thousands of users offline, a rare disruption for Elon Musk's powerful satellite internet system. Users in the US and Europe began experiencing the outage at around 3 pm, according to Downdetector, a crowdsourced outage tracker that said as many as 61,000 user reports to the site were made. Starlink, which has more than 6 million users across roughly 140 countries and territories, later acknowledged the outage on its X account and said "we are actively implementing a solution". Starlink service mostly resumed after 2.5 hours, Michael Nicolls, Starlink vice president of Starlink Engineering, wrote on X. "The outage was due to failure of key internal software services that operate the core network", Nicolls said, apologising for the disruption and vowing to find its root cause. Musk had also apologised: "Sorry for the outage. SpaceX will remedy root cause to ensure it doesn't happen again", the SpaceX CEO wrote on X. The outage was a rare hiccup for SpaceX's most commercially sensitive business that had experts speculating whether the service, known for its resilience and rapid growth, was beset by a glitch, a botched software update or even a cyberattack. Doug Madory, an expert at the internet analysis firm Kentik, said the outage was global and that such a sweeping interruption was unusual. "This is likely the longest outage ever for Starlink, at least while it became a major service provider", Madory said. Elon Musk, Chief Executive Officer of SpaceX and Tesla and owner of Twitter As Starlink gained more users, SpaceX has focused heavily in recent months on updating its network to accommodate demands for higher speed and bandwidth. The company in a partnership with T-Mobile is also expanding the constellation with larger, more powerful satellites to offer direct-to-cell text messaging services, a line of business in which mobile phone users can send emergency text messages through the network in rural areas. SpaceX has launched more than 8,000 Starlink satellites since 2020, building a uniquely distributed network in low-Earth orbit that has attracted intense demand from militaries, transportation industries and consumers in rural areas with poor access to traditional, fiber-based internet. "I'd speculate this is a bad software update, not entirely dissimilar to the CrowdStrike mess with Windows last year, or a cyberattack", said Gregory Falco, director of a space and cybersecurity laboratory at Cornell University. An update to CrowdStrike's widely used cybersecurity software led to worldwide flight cancellations and impacted industries around the globe in July last year. The outage disrupted internet services, affecting 8.5 million Microsoft Windows devices. It was unclear whether Thursday's outage affected SpaceX's other satellite-based services that rely on the Starlink network. Starshield, the company's military satellite business unit, has billions of dollars' worth of contracts with the Pentagon and US intelligence agencies. Separately, Reuters reported on Friday that Musk ordered a partial shutdown of Starlink during a pivotal push by Ukraine to retake territory in its war with Russia in late September 2022. — Reuters
TECHx
3 days ago
- TECHx
Starlink Outage Hits Thousands After Software Failure
Home » Latest news » Starlink Outage Hits Thousands After Software Failure SpaceX's Starlink suffered a major outage on Thursday, affecting tens of thousands of users globally. The Starlink outage was caused by an internal software failure, according to the company. Users across the U.S. and Europe reported connectivity issues around 3 p.m. EDT (1900 GMT), as per Downdetector, which recorded up to 61,000 user reports. Starlink, which serves over 6 million users in nearly 140 countries and territories, acknowledged the problem on its official X account. The company announced that it was actively working on a solution. Service was mostly restored after 2.5 hours, Michael Nicolls, vice president of Starlink Engineering, revealed on X. 'The outage was due to failure of key internal software services that operate the core network,' Nicolls wrote, apologizing for the disruption and confirming efforts to find the root cause. Elon Musk also apologized, stating, 'Sorry for the outage. SpaceX will remedy root cause to ensure it doesn't happen again.' Experts commented on the incident, noting the unusual scale of the Starlink outage. Doug Madory, an analyst at internet monitoring firm Kentik, reported that the outage was global. 'This is likely the longest outage ever for Starlink, at least while it became a major service provider,' he said. The outage has sparked discussions about possible causes, including a software glitch, a failed update, or even a cyberattack. Gregory Falco, director of a space and cybersecurity lab at Cornell University, speculated, 'I'd guess this is a bad software update, not entirely dissimilar to the CrowdStrike issue with Windows last year, or a cyberattack.' Key details include: SpaceX launched more than 8,000 Starlink satellites since 2020 to build its low-Earth orbit network. The company is partnering with T-Mobile to provide direct-to-cell text messaging services in rural areas. Starlink's growing user base has pushed SpaceX to focus on enhancing network speed and bandwidth. The company's Starshield unit, which handles military satellite services, holds significant contracts with the Pentagon and U.S. intelligence agencies. It remains unclear if these services were affected by the Starlink outage. The incident is being compared to a 2024 CrowdStrike cybersecurity software update that caused worldwide flight cancellations and disrupted 8.5 million Microsoft Windows devices. Source: Reuters
Zawya
4 days ago
- Business
- Zawya
Elon Musk's Starlink network suffers rare global outage
SpaceX's Starlink suffered one of its biggest international outages on Thursday when an internal software failure knocked tens of thousands of users offline, a rare disruption for Elon Musk's powerful satellite internet system. Users in the U.S. and Europe began experiencing the outage at around 3 p.m. EDT (1900 GMT), according to Downdetector, a crowdsourced outage tracker that said as many as 61,000 user reports to the site were made. Starlink, which has more than 6 million users across roughly 140 countries and territories, later acknowledged the outage on its X account and said "we are actively implementing a solution." Starlink service mostly resumed after 2.5 hours, Michael Nicolls, Starlink vice president of Starlink Engineering, wrote on X. "The outage was due to failure of key internal software services that operate the core network," Nicolls said, apologizing for the disruption and vowing to find its root cause. Musk had also apologized: "Sorry for the outage. SpaceX will remedy root cause to ensure it doesn't happen again," the SpaceX CEO wrote on X. The outage was a rare hiccup for SpaceX's most commercially sensitive business that had experts speculating whether the service, known for its resilience and rapid growth, was beset by a glitch, a botched software update or even a cyberattack. Doug Madory, an expert at the internet analysis firm Kentik, said the outage was global and that such a sweeping interruption was unusual. "This is likely the longest outage ever for Starlink, at least while it became a major service provider," Madory said. As Starlink gained more users, SpaceX has focused heavily in recent months on updating its network to accommodate demands for higher speed and bandwidth. The company in a partnership with T-Mobile is also expanding the constellation with larger, more powerful satellites to offer direct-to-cell text messaging services, a line of business in which mobile phone users can send emergency text messages through the network in rural areas. SpaceX has launched more than 8,000 Starlink satellites since 2020, building a uniquely distributed network in low-Earth orbit that has attracted intense demand from militaries, transportation industries and consumers in rural areas with poor access to traditional, fiber-based internet. "I'd speculate this is a bad software update, not entirely dissimilar to the CrowdStrike mess with Windows last year, or a cyberattack," said Gregory Falco, director of a space and cybersecurity laboratory at Cornell University. An update to CrowdStrike's widely used cybersecurity software led to worldwide flight cancellations and impacted industries around the globe in July last year. The outage disrupted internet services, affecting 8.5 million Microsoft Windows devices. It was unclear whether Thursday's outage affected SpaceX's other satellite-based services that rely on the Starlink network. Starshield, the company's military satellite business unit, has billions of dollars' worth of contracts with the Pentagon and U.S. intelligence agencies. (Reporting by Juby Babu in Mexico City, and Raphael Satter and Joey Roulette in Washington; Editing by Anil D'Silva and Matthew Lewis)
