Spectacular SpaceX Rocket Falcon 9 Lights Up Night Sky

SpaceX/Twitter

A rocket in LA created such an impressive show by lighting up the night sky, people had to be reassured there wasn’t an alien invasion happening. 

The SpaceX rocket ‘Falcon 9’ was launched into the stars on Sunday (October 7) from California’s Vandenberg Air Force Base, on a mission to deliver an Earth-observation radar satellite into orbit for Argentina’s national space agency.

The rocket carved an incredible line of light into the sky, turning from firey orange to blue as its two stages separated.

Disney Feature Animation artist, Joaquin Baldwin, headed up into the hills to make sure he got the best view of the rocket’s launch.

Sharing his pictures on social media, he wrote:

Up on the Santa Ynez peak, ready to shoot the @SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launch of the SAOCOM 1A. Full precautions taken, no bird will dare land on my head now. [sic]

THAT WAS AMAZING! The @SpaceX launch from Vandenberg was incredible! I took one long photo, 9 minutes long, the stage 2 cloud was spiraling out of control, what a show! [sic]

Surreal doesn’t begin to describe it. A bloody meteor exploded into a cyan and magenta nebula, which stared at us with hypnotic, spiral eyes, before vanishing into a comet. [sic]

Falcon 9 managed to successfully deliver the satellite, and also made history by landing the first stage of the rocket at a new site called Landing Zone 4, near its Vandenberg launchpad.

According to Space.com, Air Force officials explained the attempt to land the first stage of Falcon 9 before its launch, saying:

This will be SpaceX’s first land landing attempt at Vandenberg Air Force Base. Local residents may see the first stage of the Falcon 9 returning to Vandenberg AFB, including multiple engine burns associated with the landing.

During the landing attempt residents from Santa Barbara, Ventura and San Luis Obispo counties may hear one or more sonic booms.

The Mayor of LA took care of any extra-terrestrial theories that might have emerged after the rocket took off, writing:

Nope, definitely not aliens.

What you’re looking at is the first launch and landing of the @SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket on the West Coast.

The rocket took off from Vandenberg Air Force Base at 7:21 p.m. and landed safely back on Earth.

Elon Musk also documented the rocket’s trip on Twitter, writing ‘Falcon has landed’:

Some lucky Californians were able to see the show right from their own back gardens, as one person wrote on social media:

Lovely @SpaceX launch from Vandenberg AFB as seen from my backyard in Montrose, CA.

Amazing!

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Emily Brown

Emily Brown first began delivering important news stories aged just 13, when she launched her career with a paper round. She graduated with a BA Hons in English Language in the Media from Lancaster University, and went on to become a freelance writer and blogger. Emily contributed to The Sunday Times Travel Magazine and Student Problems before becoming a journalist at UNILAD, where she works on breaking news as well as longer form features.