Glitch in the Sky: Global Outage Hits Elon Musk’s Starlink Network, Leaving Thousands Disconnected

Elon Musk’s ambitious satellite internet venture, Starlink, hit turbulence Tuesday evening as a widespread outage disrupted services across continents, leaving thousands without internet access.

Reports began pouring into Down Detector just before 9 p.m., with over 65% of users citing a “total blackout.” In a brief statement posted to social media, Starlink acknowledged the disruption: “Starlink is currently in a network outage and we are actively implementing a solution. We appreciate your patience, we’ll share an update once this issue is resolved.”

Users attempting to access the Starlink website were met with a cryptic “no healthy upstream” error, further fueling speculation about the severity of the issue.

Starlink, the crown jewel of Musk’s SpaceX telecommunications arm, aims to bring high-speed satellite internet to even the most remote corners of the world. With coverage spanning 130 countries and territories, the outage has triggered frustration from users in regions as widespread as Colorado, Germany, and Zimbabwe.

One disgruntled customer on X (formerly Twitter) summed up the sentiment: “The only downfall to Starlink is when it goes down, your only alternative is your phone network.” Others echoed the frustration, noting that when the satellites go silent, so do their homes and businesses.

The outage marks a rare stumble for the rapidly growing network, which boasts thousands of low-orbit satellites and is often touted as a lifeline for rural and underserved communities. For now, Starlink users are anxiously awaiting updates—and a reconnection to the digital world.

Whether a technical hiccup or a deeper systems issue, the disruption has exposed the growing global dependency on Starlink’s space-based infrastructure—and just how jarring a sudden silence from the sky can be.