Musk’s Starlink Restores Service After Brief Global Outage
Elon Musk’s satellite internet provider, Starlink, has restored service after a brief outage early Monday disrupted connections for tens of thousands of users. According to outage-tracking site Downdetector.com, reports of issues peaked at more than 43,000 in the US before dropping below 1,000 by 1:15 a.m. ET (0515 GMT).
Starlink acknowledged the disruption on its website, saying its team was investigating the problem. That message was later removed once services resumed. The company did not provide details on the cause of the outage.
Ukraine Reports Service Impact on Battlefield
The outage was also felt in Ukraine, where forces rely heavily on Starlink terminals for battlefield communications and drone operations. Robert Brovdi, commander of Ukraine’s drone forces, said the disruption began at 07:28 local time (0428 GMT) and affected the entire frontline.
“Another global outage at SpaceX,” Brovdi wrote on Telegram, adding that services began to return about 30 minutes later. Ukrainian officials estimate that more than 50,000 Starlink terminals are currently active in the country.
Starlink’s Role in Remote and Conflict Zones
Operated by SpaceX, Starlink delivers internet through a vast network of low-Earth orbit satellites. The service has become vital for users in remote areas, regions with limited infrastructure, and conflict zones.
Despite the brief disruption, the rapid recovery highlights Starlink’s growing importance as a global communications lifeline. SpaceX has not yet commented publicly on the outage.
with inputs from Reuters