SpaceX's Starlink suffered one of its biggest international outages on Thursday when an internal software failure knocked tens of thousands of users offline, a rare disruption for Elon Musk's powerful satellite internet system.

Tens of thousands of people across the globe have been impacted by the Starlink outage, which has prevented users in multiple countries from accessing the internet

Starlink is a satellite internet constellation that works as an international telecommunication provider, part of the American aerospace company SpaceX, founded by controversial billionaire Elon Musk. The network provides coverage to around 130 countries and territories, aiming to provide global mobile broadband.

Elon Musk issued a statement following a major global outage that knocked thousands of Starlink users offline late Thursday.

Elon Musk's Starlink was down for hours last night following a global outage - and users vented their fury, demanding refunds for the satellite internet service

A new analysis digs into the irony of satellite internet: The more popular it becomes, the worse speeds and reliability tend to get. There’s an irony with Elon Musk’s Starlink internet service beamed from space: The more popular it becomes, the worse its speeds and reliability tend to get.

T-Mobile's T-Satellite service, powered by Elon Musk's Starlink, could backfire once a speculated 12-month exclusivity deal ends.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency has bought Starlink services — but also fell into the crosshairs of Musk. In the aftermath of Hurricane Helene in 2024, Musk said FEMA was blocking deliveries of the terminals, a claim the agency called false. FEMA did not respond to repeated requests for comment on its use of Starlink.