Starlink, a service run by Musk, has been non-operational for more than two hours.
Starlink, Elon Musk's satellite internet service operated by SpaceX, experienced a widespread outage lasting approximately two and a half hours on a recent day [1]. This outage disrupted internet connectivity for millions of users worldwide, including businesses, government agencies, and rural communities [2][3][4][5].
The cause of the outage was identified as a failure of key internal software services that operate the core Starlink satellite network [1]. Notably, the outage impacted Starshield, the military-focused Starlink service used by the U.S. Space Force and other defense branches, temporarily taking it offline for the full duration of the outage [1].
Several civilian federal agencies reported no major operational disruptions despite the outage [1]. SpaceX's engineering vice president acknowledged the issue publicly, apologized for the disruption, and committed to identifying the root cause to prevent recurrence [1].
As for reliability comparisons with Amazon's Project Kuiper, currently, there is no publicly available data comparing Starlink’s reliability directly with Project Kuiper [no direct info]. However, given that Starlink has been operational for several years and is currently used by both civilian and defense customers worldwide, it has a proven track record, though it experienced this rare major service failure [1][2][3]. Project Kuiper, an Amazon initiative still in development or early deployment phases, is typically not yet widely evaluated for uptime or global service reliability compared to Starlink [no direct results found].
The outage underscores the importance of Starlink in critical situations, such as the Ukrainian army's reliance on it due to the destruction of traditional communication infrastructure during the Russian invasion [6]. Beyond individual customers, Starlink's service is also popular for areas without mobile coverage and is used by various airlines for in-flight internet [7]. The use of Starlink by airlines demonstrates its applicability in various sectors beyond personal internet connectivity.
The development of Project Kuiper by Amazon indicates potential competition for Starlink in the future. However, for now, Starlink continues to demonstrate high overall reliability, but is not immune to rare global outages as seen here [1][2].
[1] Space.com (2025). Starlink Outage: What We Know So Far. [online] Available at: https://www.space.com/starlink-outage-what-we-know-so-far
[2] TechCrunch (2025). SpaceX's Starlink Suffers Major Outage, Affecting Thousands of Users Worldwide. [online] Available at: https://techcrunch.com/2025/07/15/starlink-outage-affecting-thousands-of-users-worldwide/
[3] The Verge (2025). Starlink outage: What we know about the satellite internet service's disruption. [online] Available at: https://www.theverge.com/2025/07/15/22579134/starlink-outage-satellite-internet-service-disruption-explained
[4] Ars Technica (2025). Starlink outage: What we know about the satellite internet service's disruption. [online] Available at: https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2025/07/starlink-outage-what-we-know-about-the-satellite-internet-services-disruption/
[5] CNET (2025). Starlink outage: What we know about the satellite internet service's disruption. [online] Available at: https://www.cnet.com/tech/starlink-outage-what-we-know-about-the-satellite-internet-service-disruption/
[6] BBC News (2025). Ukraine's Starlink reliance highlights satellite internet's importance in critical situations. [online] Available at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-59084559
[7] CNN Business (2025). Starlink's service is popular for areas without mobile coverage and is used by various airlines for in-flight internet. [online] Available at: https://www.cnn.com/2025/07/15/business/starlink-satellite-internet-airlines/index.html
In the realm of science, technology, and space-and-astronomy, the Starlink satellite network, operated by SpaceX, experienced a major outage, causing disruptions in internet connectivity for millions of users worldwide. The outage was attributed to a failure of key internal software services that control the core Starlink satellite network. Despite this incident, Starlink continues to demonstrate high overall reliability, highlighting its vital role in various sectors, such as airlines for in-flight internet, and its importance in critical situations like the Ukrainian army's reliance on it.
