Elon Musk’s satellite internet provider Starlink restored service on Monday after a major outage temporarily left more than 43,000 US users and Ukraine’s frontline forces without internet connectivity.
According to outage tracker Downdetector, disruptions peaked at over 43,000 reports in the US before subsiding to fewer than 1,000 by 1:15 a.m. ET (05:15 GMT). Starlink briefly acknowledged the issue on its website, saying engineers were investigating, though the notice was later removed without explanation.
The outage map showed major disruptions across cities including Phoenix, Dallas, Houston, Atlanta, Seattle, and Chicago.
In Ukraine, where Starlink has become essential for military communications and drone operations, officials confirmed disruptions were also felt along the front line. Robert Brovdi, commander of Ukraine’s drone forces, described it as a “global outage at SpaceX,” noting connectivity began returning about 30 minutes after the disruption, which first appeared at 07:28 local time (04:28 GMT).
Ukraine currently operates over 50,000 Starlink terminals provided by SpaceX, critical for secure communications in combat zones and remote areas where traditional infrastructure is either damaged or absent.
Starlink, operated by Musk’s private space firm SpaceX, provides high-speed internet through a growing constellation of low-Earth orbit satellites. While outages remain rare, the scale of this disruption raised concerns about system resilience—especially as Starlink increasingly supports both civilian users and military operations worldwide.
SpaceX has not issued a detailed explanation regarding the cause of the outage.
Meanwhile, users voiced their frustrations online, with many turning to X (formerly Twitter) to complain, some directly tagging Musk to demand answers.
Also read: Viksit Workforce for a Viksit Bharat
Do Follow: The Mainstream formerly known as CIO News LinkedIn Account | The Mainstream formerly known as CIO News Facebook | The Mainstream formerly known as CIO News Youtube | The Mainstream formerly known as CIO News Twitter |The Mainstream formerly known as CIO News Whatsapp Channel | The Mainstream formerly known as CIO News Instagram
About us:
The Mainstream formerly known as CIO News is a premier platform dedicated to delivering latest news, updates, and insights from the tech industry. With its strong foundation of intellectual property and thought leadership, the platform is well-positioned to stay ahead of the curve and lead conversations about how technology shapes our world. From its early days as CIO News to its rebranding as The Mainstream on November 28, 2024, it has been expanding its global reach, targeting key markets in the Middle East & Africa, ASEAN, the USA, and the UK. The Mainstream is a vision to put technology at the center of every conversation, inspiring professionals and organizations to embrace the future of tech.
