HAWTHORNE, California: Elon Musk's Starlink, known for its reliability and rapid global expansion, faced a rare and widespread disruption on July 24 when an internal software failure took the satellite internet network offline for tens of thousands of users around the world.

The outage, which began around 3 p.m. EDT (1900 GMT), triggered more than 61,000 reports on Downdetector, a website that tracks service interruptions. The disruption affected users across the U.S. and Europe and lasted roughly 2.5 hours.

Starlink, which has over six million users in approximately 140 countries and territories, acknowledged the issue on its X account and said it was "actively implementing a solution." The company later confirmed the service had resumed.

Michael Nicolls, vice president of Starlink Engineering, said the cause was a failure of "key internal software services that operate the core network." He apologized for the disruption and said efforts were underway to identify and fix the root cause.

Elon Musk also apologized on X, writing: "Sorry for the outage. SpaceX will remedy the root cause to ensure it doesn't happen again."

The failure marked one of Starlink's largest-ever outages and sparked questions about the satellite system's resilience. The system has become increasingly critical for global connectivity in underserved regions.

Doug Madory, an analyst at internet monitoring firm Kentik, described the incident as "likely the longest outage ever for Starlink" since it became a major player in the internet services space. The scale of the disruption led some experts to speculate on whether it was triggered by a faulty update or possibly even a cyberattack.

"I'd speculate this is a bad software update, not entirely dissimilar to the CrowdStrike mess with Windows last year, or a cyberattack," said Gregory Falco, director of a space and cybersecurity lab at Cornell University.

While no evidence has surfaced suggesting malicious activity, the failure raises concerns as SpaceX expands Starlink's scope. The company is launching larger satellites as part of a partnership with T-Mobile to offer direct-to-cell services, including emergency messaging from rural areas.

Since 2020, SpaceX has launched more than 8,000 Starlink satellites, creating a vast constellation in low-Earth orbit that provides internet access to both consumers and critical sectors such as military and maritime operations.

It remains unclear whether the outage impacted Starlink-powered services under SpaceX's Starshield unit, which holds major contracts with the U.S. government and military.

While service was quickly restored, the rare failure highlights how even the most advanced networks can falter, and just how dependent the world has become on space-based connectivity.