SpaceX's Starlink service slows down amidst intense solar storm
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SpaceX CEO Elon Musk pointed fingers at an ongoing intense solar storm as a potential culprit.
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Tesla and SpaceX's CEO Elon Musk addresses the European Jewish Association's conference, in Krakow, Poland, Monday, Jan. 22, 2024 (AP)
SpaceX's Starlink, the ambitious satellite-based internet venture, faced a significant slowdown in its services over the weekend, prompting concerns among users.
While the cause of the disruption remained unclear, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk pointed fingers at an ongoing intense solar storm as a potential culprit.
"Major geomagnetic solar storm happening right now. Biggest in a long time. Starlink satellites are under a lot of pressure, but holding up so far," Musk wrote on X.
Major geomagnetic solar storm happening right now. Biggest in a long time. Starlink satellites are under a lot of pressure, but holding up so far. pic.twitter.com/TrEv5Acli2
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 11, 2024
Starlink acknowledged a decrease in service speed but refrained from directly attributing it to the solar storm.
"Starlink is currently experiencing degraded service. Our team is investigating," the company said on its website.
The solar storm in question reached unprecedented levels, with the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Space Weather Prediction Center updating the Earth's solar storm status to "Extreme" (G5), marking the highest level on the scale, for the first time since 2003. This exceptional intensity likely contributed to disturbances in satellite communications, including those of Starlink.
Read more: SpaceX secretly building spy satellite network for US intelligence
Starlink is a next-generation satellite network launched by SpaceX in February 2018 with the goal of providing global broadband internet access.
Since the start of Russia's military operation in Ukraine, Starlink stations have provided Ukrainian forces with satellite internet connectivity.
However, SpaceX CEO Gwynne Shotwell stated in March that the business had taken steps to prohibit Ukraine's use of its Starlink satellites for military objectives, such as commanding drones.
Last year, Elon Musk caused Ukraine to abandon a planned naval drone strike in the Black Sea by withholding access to the Starlink satellite network.
Musk recently made headlines for providing Gaza's hospitals with Starlink services.
The Israeli regime expressed outrage over the move, saying that the Palestinian resistance will resort to the devices to continue their operations against Israeli occupation forces.
