A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket illuminated the Southern California sky as it lifted off from Vandenberg Space Force Base, located northwest of Santa Barbara on Sunday evening.
An unusual sight in the evening sky at Horizon Music Festival in San Diego surprised many festival-goers. A strange tadpole-shaped object appeared and attracted attention from a lot of people.
According to NBC, low-Earth orbit showed a spectacular display by the rocket carrying a payload of 20 Starlink satellites.
This particular rocket and its exhaust plume can be seen from hundreds of miles away along the coastline on clear days. Rocket’s reflection of sunshine against dark skies is most noticeable when launched just after sunset or before sunrise offering best views.
The remarkable event was captured by numerous festival attendees, with videos and photographs quickly becoming viral on social media. The moment that was visually appealing became popular online with speed.
Increased activity at Vandenberg is part of SpaceX’s expansion into the area following approval by California Coastal Commission for an increase to 36 launches annually from that site.
SpaceX had 96 successful missions in 2023 using Falcon rockets compared to previous record set in 2022 which stood at 61 orbital launches.
