Rival to SpaceX’s Starlink Goes Dark After Failing to Account for Leap Year

French satellite operator Eutelsat failed to account for last year’s leap year, causing an embarrassing 48-hour service outage.

OneWeb’s satellite constellation restores internet service after an outage that began on December 31, 2024, Eutelsat sure “The root cause was identified as a software issue within the ground segment,” the company wrote in a brief statement on Thursday. “The constellation is working nominally again.”

Joanna Darlington, Eutelsat’s chief communications and investor relations officer, told Via Satellite that the 2024 leap year “seems the most likely cause” for the software glitch. The failure to account for an additional day this year likely disrupted Internet Star’s software, causing temporary disruptions.

Eutelsat operates a fleet of over 630 satellites in low Earth orbit. The company has been building out its OneWeb constellation since 2020, sending batches of satellites designed to beam high-speed internet around the world.

It has not been an easy road for Eutelsat. The company originally relied on Russia’s Soyuz rockets to launch its satellites, but its relationship with Roscosmos quickly soured following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. In retaliation against Western sanctions against Russia, Roscosmos refused to launch the OneWeb satellite, agreeing to a List of needs. OneWeb declined, prompting Russia will keep its 36 satellites At a storage facility in Baikonur, Kazakhstan. The company was then forced to rely on its Internet Constellation rival SpaceX, as well as the Indian Space Research Organization, for its satellite launches.

despite Launching the final batch of 36 satellites In March 2023, delays prevented Eutelsat from launching global broadband coverage Ensuring approval for land-based infrastructure In important countries like India, Thailand and Turkey. As a result, OneWeb’s Internet services are currently only available in the Americas and parts of Europe and Asia. The company hopes to resolve its issues this year, launching its full service by spring, according to SpaceNews.

Compared to SpaceX’s Starlink constellation, OneWeb is geared toward Internet Service Providers (ISPs) and other business clients. While Starlink serves end-users directly, OneWeb is an infrastructure provider rather than direct customer service.

Recently Eutelsat order Airbus will begin the process of updating its constellation of 100 broadband satellites in a few years, with its satellites reaching the end of their lifespans between 2027 and 2028. After getting over the recent blunder, the company is keen to make sure it doesn’t happen again. Again, so no more excuses in 2028.