California
‘What was that?’: SpaceX rocket launch lights up Central California sky
FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) — A sight in the skies over Central California left many people wondering… “What was that?”
It appeared as a towering plume of white smoke, dotted with glowing spots.
That was a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, launching from Vandenberg Space Force Base along the Central Coast.
The rocket was carrying 25 Starlink satellites into lowEarth orbit.
About two and a half minutes after launch, the rocket’s first and second stages separated.
The second stage continued on into space, while the first stage returned to Earth, making a safe landing on a drone ship off the coast of Baja California, Mexico.
SpaceX launches rockets from Vandenberg about once a week, but this one stood out.
Clear skies, combined with a twilight launch just after sunset, meant the rocket was still catching sunlight at higher elevations, making it especially visible across much of the Valley.
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