- A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket successfully launched Monday evening from Vandenberg Space Force Base in Santa Barbara County, Southern California
- The rocket carried 22 Starlink satellites to low Earth orbit and blasted off at 7:30 p.m. before returning to Earth
- Officials said this is the 15th flight for the Falcon 9 first stage booster rocket, including eight other Starlink missions and several others
The skies of Southern California were glowing Monday evening as a SpaceX rocket flew by on its way to space.
The Falcon 9 launched from Vandenberg Space Force Base in Santa Barbara County, 160 miles northwest of Los Angeles, around 7:30 p.m., leaving behind a bright plume of smoke.
The images were perhaps even more stunning than usual, as the sun had only set 15 minutes earlier, but the light from our nearest star was still hitting the plume illuminating it.
It made the long-running cloud visible across the region, including neighboring Arizona.
Launches just before sunset or just before sunrise usually offer the best views, as the rocket reflects the sun’s rays against a dark sky background.
An evening launch of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying 22 Starlink satellites to low Earth orbit is seen Monday evening from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.
People stand on a pier under the contrail of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying a payload of 22 Starlink internet satellites into space
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket flies over the Pacific Ocean carrying a payload of 22 Starlink internet satellites into space
The launch was visible across much of Southern California. San Clemente Pier can be seen here
The launch was the 11th from Vandenberg Space Force Base. It was also the 32nd Falcon 9 launch of 2024. In this photo, a similar rocket is launched from Florida on Saturday
SpaceX was scheduled to launch the rocket on Saturday, but a weekend storm delayed its departure.
This time, the rocket carried a payload of 22 Starlink satellites into low Earth orbit.
The launch was the 11th from Vandenberg Space Force Base.
It was also the 32nd Falcon 9 launch of 2024, and the 21st was used to build out the ‘Starlink mega-constellation’.
After the satellites were deployed, the booster landed on the droneship ‘Of Course I Still Love You’ in the Pacific Ocean.
Starlink is “the world’s first and largest satellite constellation to use low Earth orbit to deliver broadband internet that supports streaming, online gaming, video calling and more,” according to the service’s website.
The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket could launch Monday evening from Vandenberg Space Force Base in Santa Barbara County, Southern California
People walk on a pier under the contrail of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket in San Clemente
The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket successfully launched Monday evening from Vandenberg Space Force Base in Santa Barbara County, Southern California.
The rocket carried 22 Starlink satellites to low Earth orbit and launched at 7:30 p.m.
The lingering cloud was visible across the region, including in neighboring Arizona
Launches just before sunset or just before sunrise usually offer the best views, as the rocket reflects the sun’s rays with a darker sky background
You can see the rocket taking off with the mountains in the distance
The booster rocket returns to Earth and is the object in the center of this photo
The ‘constellation’ of satellites consists of thousands of satellites that orbit the Earth at an altitude of about 540 kilometers.
The satellites then connect to antennas that users set up in their homes to provide internet access.
If lighting conditions are right, the satellites will appear on a train as they parade through the night sky.
The satellites are sometimes visible in the first minutes after sunset and before sunrise when the sun is below the horizon, but the satellites are high enough to reflect direct sunlight.
