SpaceX’s Starlink satellite internet system suffered a major global disruption Thursday, knocking tens of thousands of users offline for more than two hours and affecting critical military communications across active warzones.
According to Downdetector, the outage began on Thursday at approximately 3 p.m. EDT (1900 GMT), with more than 61,000 user reports flooding the crowdsourced platform from both the United States and Europe. The failure was traced to an internal software issue that impacted Starlink’s core network systems.
In a post on X, Starlink Vice President Michael Nicolls confirmed: “Starlink has now mostly recovered from the network outage, which lasted approximately 2.5 hours. The outage was due to failure of key internal software services that operate the core network. We apologize for the temporary disruption in our service; we are deeply committed to providing a highly reliable network, and will fully root cause this issue and ensure it does not occur again.”
The effects of the outage were especially pronounced in Ukraine, where military forces heavily depend on Starlink for command, control, and battlefield awareness.
Starlink has now mostly recovered from the network outage, which lasted approximately 2.5 hours. The outage was due to failure of key internal software services that operate the core network. We apologize for the temporary disruption in our service; we are deeply committed to… https://t.co/ffFYM1Z7tD
— Michael Nicolls (@michaelnicollsx) July 24, 2025
Robert Brovdi, commander of Ukraine’s Unmanned Systems Forces, stated that the blackout disrupted operations across the entire frontline. “Combat operations were carried out without live transmission; reconnaissance in force was conducted using strike systems,” Brovdi said. “This case, which lasted a long 150 minutes in wartime, exposed critical bottlenecks. We must take this into account and diversify communications.”
Brovdi noted that connectivity was restored between 12:35 a.m. and 1:05 a.m. local time, but the impact during the downtime highlighted Ukraine’s current overreliance on a single satellite communication provider.
SpaceX’s Starlink network has become indispensable for the Ukrainian Armed Forces since the early stages of the Russian invasion. The system’s ability to deliver fast, low-latency internet even in remote or contested areas has supported frontline coordination, drone operations, and real-time surveillance feeds.
The incident, however, raises broader concerns about the fragility of satellite-based communications during high-intensity operations. For forces like Ukraine’s — which operate without legacy infrastructure or alternative networks — even short outages can compromise operational continuity.
Rick Bergman, CEO of satellite terminal developer Kymeta, addressed this challenge directly. In a recent statement, Bergman said: “Globally the call for resilient, secure communications is louder than ever. The vulnerabilities exposed by recent events worldwide have shown just how fragile traditional infrastructures can be. Regardless to the nature of disruption, the capacity to quickly pivot and maintain communications is non-negotiable. For governments and enterprises, the ability to seamlessly switch between satellite orbits and terrestrial networks is fundamental for operational success.”
Thursday’s outage, while brief, was one of the most widespread service failures Starlink has experienced to date. The episode is expected to renew calls within NATO and allied defense ministries for diversified, multi-orbit satellite communication systems capable of functioning under duress.
While SpaceX has pledged to investigate the root cause and improve its service resilience, the incident underscores the growing strategic importance of reliable satellite internet — not just for commercial users, but for military planners navigating complex, dynamic battlefields.
As of Friday morning, all known service disruptions had been resolved.