(Photo illustration by Jonathan Raa/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
SpaceX is blaming a network upgrade for Thursday’s widespread Starlink outage, which temporarily shut down access to the satellite internet system.
Previously, a SpaceX executive said the disruption was due to a "failure of key internal software services that operate the core network," without elaborating. But in a message sent to resellers, the company attributed the error to an “upgrade procedure,” which involved rolling out software to Starlink’s “ground-based compute clusters,” according to an industry source.
The message didn’t elaborate on the upgrade and what it was designed to do. But Starlink works by using orbiting satellites to relay data from ground-based antennas and facilities on Earth connected to fiber networks. The message explains that a rare mix of factors during the upgrade caused a disruption in Starlink’s core network by overloading the system while traffic was being distributed across the computing infrastructure.
(Credit: Starlink.com)The resulting outage occurred around noon Pacific Time, right in the middle of the day for many US users; Starlink serves over 6 million customers globally. As a result, subscribers across North America and in other parts of the world were briefly forced offline, causing many to scramble for backup internet services. Although SpaceX was able to restore access for most users in about 2.5 hours, some customers reported suffering connection problems for several hours more or into the next day and weekend.
Thursday’s outage was the longest in Starlink’s history. The satellite internet service has become vital to many users in rural and remote areas, along with war-torn Ukraine. But since then, some Starlink users have reported faster speeds, raising speculation that the outage was related to a network upgrade.
“I usually average around 110Mbps-150Mbps download, but today I’m getting 200Mbps-250Mbps. Seeing highs of 346+Mbps,” wrote one user on Reddit. Still, others have reported connection issues and slower speeds since Thursday’s outage.
SpaceX didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. But company executive Michael Nicolls previously apologized for the outage, adding: “We are deeply committed to providing a highly reliable network, and will fully root cause this issue and ensure it does not occur again.”
For Starlink users still experiencing problems, the company has updated its Starlink support page to say, "Please power cycle and reboot all Starlink and third-party equipment.”