What did I just see flying over Bell Gardens, CA?
June 18, 2024 8:50 PM Subscribe
While driving up the 5 just now I saw the most incredible thing move slowly across the sky. It left these lightning bright clouds in its wake and occasionally sparks seemed to break off of it. When I got off the freeway to take this picture, it was gone. What was it???
Best answer: Probably this SpaceX satellite launch from Vandenberg.
posted by mbrubeck at 8:55 PM on June 18 [5 favorites]
Yes, almost certainly a rocket from Vandenburg. Dusk launches on clear skies can produce dramatic and beautiful displays.
posted by 2N2222 at 8:57 PM on June 18
posted by 2N2222 at 8:57 PM on June 18
Yeah, looks like it's time for the periodic wave of MSM / social media reports. Here are earlier instances:
https://www.google.com/search?q=spacex+launch+seen+in+los+angeles
Here is SpaceX's coverage of the launch (re-uploaded to Youtube because the chief manbaby insists on broadcasting only on the awful X platform). They don't do commentary for most of their launches any more, only the high-profile ones. Anyway, late in that coverage you should see the groundtrack. It just made it to orbit 15 minutes ago.
posted by intermod at 9:07 PM on June 18
https://www.google.com/search?q=spacex+launch+seen+in+los+angeles
Here is SpaceX's coverage of the launch (re-uploaded to Youtube because the chief manbaby insists on broadcasting only on the awful X platform). They don't do commentary for most of their launches any more, only the high-profile ones. Anyway, late in that coverage you should see the groundtrack. It just made it to orbit 15 minutes ago.
posted by intermod at 9:07 PM on June 18
Response by poster: Oh man, that was awesome. I just realized I saw another launch back in like... 2018 and it was also spectacular. Thanks all! My night is made
posted by The Adventure Begins at 9:16 PM on June 18 [2 favorites]
posted by The Adventure Begins at 9:16 PM on June 18 [2 favorites]
I'll add two things:
SpaceX is now launching out of Vandenberg dozens of times per year, so this is an increasingly likely apparition. As 2N2222 said, you just need dusk / evening lighting, where it's dark on the ground but still sunlit at high altitudes. They can launch at any time during the 24-hour clock, so I dunno, maybe 10% of the launches will do this?
Like most launches, the booster for this particular launch coasted back down to the ocean and landed on a barge that was waiting there for it (it's in the video I linked to above). But sometimes the booster will do a Return To Launch Site (RTLS), and in that case the first stage booster flips around and heads back to Vandernberg. That creates an even more wild apparition, where the two halves of the rocket have interacting plumes for a few seconds.
But the second stage continuing on and creating the space jellyfish is pretty awesome :)
posted by intermod at 9:19 PM on June 18 [1 favorite]
SpaceX is now launching out of Vandenberg dozens of times per year, so this is an increasingly likely apparition. As 2N2222 said, you just need dusk / evening lighting, where it's dark on the ground but still sunlit at high altitudes. They can launch at any time during the 24-hour clock, so I dunno, maybe 10% of the launches will do this?
Like most launches, the booster for this particular launch coasted back down to the ocean and landed on a barge that was waiting there for it (it's in the video I linked to above). But sometimes the booster will do a Return To Launch Site (RTLS), and in that case the first stage booster flips around and heads back to Vandernberg. That creates an even more wild apparition, where the two halves of the rocket have interacting plumes for a few seconds.
But the second stage continuing on and creating the space jellyfish is pretty awesome :)
posted by intermod at 9:19 PM on June 18 [1 favorite]
There's another Falcon 9 night launch on Sunday, depending on if it goes early in the launch window, and if it isn't cloudy might be a similar opportunity. one of a number of handy launch forecast sites
posted by lemonade at 10:03 PM on June 18
posted by lemonade at 10:03 PM on June 18
Mod note: Hi, one comment removed. Please remember that AskMetaFilter is more tightly moderated than the other sub-sites. If you're sharing an answer, please keep it focused on the OP's question, thanks.
posted by Brandon Blatcher (staff) at 5:03 PM on June 19
posted by Brandon Blatcher (staff) at 5:03 PM on June 19
JUst in case you're curious, I just now took this video of a launch at 8:47pm from my house in Santa Monica, about 120-130 miles as the crow flies, from Vandenburg AFB. It's fuzzy and handheld from my phone, but you get the gist of what it could look like as the rocket heads in a southerly direction. I've seen them in the past going back to my childhood in the 70s, some much more dramatic.
posted by 2N2222 at 9:27 PM on June 23
posted by 2N2222 at 9:27 PM on June 23
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