lucadelladora – Starlink faced its second global satellite Internet outage on September 15, disrupting service across the Midwest and Ukraine. Over 50,000 users reported connectivity loss, including Ukrainian frontline forces and users in Michigan. The outage followed a recent major service interruption just weeks earlier.
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Unlike the first outage, which SpaceX attributed to a human error during a network upgrade. This disruption may have stemmed from external factors beyond Starlink’s control. The company did not specify the cause in its announcement. However, the outage coincided with a significant geomagnetic storm warning issued by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
The NOAA forecast predicted a geomagnetic storm with a K-index of 7 or higher (classified as NOAA G3 or above) between 02:54 and 09:00 UTC on September 15, 2025. Such storms can cause voltage irregularities in power systems, spacecraft surface charging, increased satellite drag, GPS navigation issues, HF radio interference, and visible auroras far south in the U.S., including Pennsylvania, Iowa, and Oregon.
Starlink’s satellite network likely faced interruptions due to the storm’s effects on satellite operation and signal transmission. Users reported outages lasting up to an hour and a half. Shorter than the nearly three-hour disruption caused by the previous outage.
Background on Starlink’s Previous Outage and Future Network Upgrades
The first major Starlink outage occurred during a firmware upgrade of its terrestrial network of over 100 distribution gateways in the United States. Each gateway supports approximately 150 antennas, which help improve connection stability and reduce latency by routing satellite signals via fiber optic cables.
SpaceX planned this upgrade to prepare Starlink’s terrestrial infrastructure for a future gigabit network. The company aims to launch Version 3 (V3) satellites starting in 2026, which will offer ten times the throughput capacity of current models. This upgrade promises peak download speeds exceeding 1 Gbps when paired with the new Performance dish.
The previous outage resulted from a human error during the gateway firmware update and lasted close to three hours. Despite this setback, the upgrade represents a key step in expanding Starlink’s high-speed satellite internet capabilities.
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The recent geomagnetic storm interruption was brief in comparison but highlights potential vulnerabilities in satellite communications during space weather events. As Starlink continues to expand and improve, it will need to consider such natural disruptions to maintain reliable service globally.
Moving forward, SpaceX’s advancements in satellite technology and terrestrial support infrastructure will be critical to enhancing network resilience. The rollout of higher-capacity satellites and upgraded ground stations should help reduce downtime and improve overall service stability. Meanwhile, users will remain attentive to potential outages during extreme space weather conditions.
