SpaceX launched more satellites that same day from Vandenberg despite the outage.
Starlink crashed again. The satellite internet service run by Elon Musk’s SpaceX stopped working for thousands of users on Monday night.
Reports poured in through Downdetector, the go-to platform for tracking tech outages. Users across the globe said their connections just dropped out, no warning, nothing.
Starlink already had a major blackout just two weeks ago, dragging on for hours. According to SpaceX VP of Starlink Engineering Michael Nicolls, it happened because of a “failure of key internal software services that operate the core network.” No updates were shared this time, at least not by press time.
SpaceX sends more satellites up as California pushes back
That July 24 crash hit right after T-Mobile launched its new Starlink-based service. The carrier promised direct-to-cell connectivity for areas with no signal at all. According to T-Mobile, this new setup should work “in places no carrier towers can reach.” It’s supposed to let phones connect straight to the satellite system without any ground infrastructure.
Starlink currently serves over six million users in 140 countries, according to SpaceX’s own website. But the company doesn’t publish any numbers about how many users stick around or how many leave. That means nobody outside SpaceX really knows how stable or profitable the customer base is.
What is public, though, is the sheer size of the Starlink fleet. Research from astronomer Jonathan McDowell shows that more than 7,000 broadband satellites are actively working in orbit right now. That’s way more than any other company trying to do the same thing. And SpaceX isn’t stopping.
On the same day users were facing problems, SpaceX launched another group of Starlink satellites from Vandenberg Space Force Base in Southern California. The timing was almost too perfect, down on Earth, users were cut off from the internet
In space, more satellites were flying out to join the constellation. According to the company’s plans, launches from Vandenberg are expected to double soon, from 50 to around 100 each year.
But not everyone is on board. Last Thursday, the California Coastal Commission voted unanimously to block the U.S. Space Force’s application to allow SpaceX to ramp up those launches. The issue? Nobody has properly looked into what that kind of activity could do to the environment.
The commission said SpaceX and the Space Force failed to submit reports about the impact of more launches on nearby communities and local wildlife. Noise, vibrations, chemical use; it all adds up. And they’re not willing to greenlight 100 launches a year without answers. This vote directly affects how quickly SpaceX can expand Starlink through Vandenberg.
And while that drama was happening, another piece moved in Washington. Donald Trump signed an executive order to weaken environmental regulations that companies like SpaceX say are slowing them down.
The new rule is meant to make it easier for commercial space firms to launch rockets without all the red tape. Whether that’ll help Elon in California remains to be seen, since state-level commissions don’t always bow to federal orders.
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