Residents across Brevard County woke to a bright streak in the sky early Thursday, with some mistaking the SpaceX Falcon 9 launch for a comet or UFO. The rocket lifted off from Cape Canaveral Space Station at 5:25 a.m. local time on its 36th mission, sending a plume of exhaust visible hundreds of miles away. One caller to Action News Jax said, 'It’s a comet,' while others asked, 'What’s that light in the sky?' The event marked the deployment of 29 Starlink satellites into orbit as part of SpaceX’s ongoing broadband initiative.
The Falcon 9’s first-stage booster, which landed at Cape Canaveral’s Landing Zone 1 shortly after liftoff, was not the only spectacle. Minutes after launch, residents from Daytona Beach to Tampa reported seeing the rocket’s exhaust glow in the pre-dawn sky. The visibility was attributed to the rocket’s trajectory and atmospheric conditions, which allowed the plume to reflect sunlight even before sunrise.
This was the second Falcon 9 launch from Cape Canaveral in less than a month, with SpaceX continuing to use the spaceport for both Starlink and commercial satellite missions. The company has conducted over 100 launches from the area since 2010, but the early morning timing and unusual visibility of this particular flight caught many by surprise.
Local astronomer Dr. Emily Carter, who observed the launch from Cocoa Beach, said the event was 'a rare example of how SpaceX’s operations can be seen so clearly from the ground.' She noted that the bright exhaust plume, combined with the rocket’s low orbit insertion, created a unique visual effect not typically seen during launches later in the day.