The night a rocket launch etched a Wi-Fi symbol into the California sky
In short: On an October evening in 2018, a SpaceX Falcon 9 launch created a glowing, otherworldly plume that drifted over Los Angeles. While some observers feared an alien encounter, the event actually marked a historic milestone for reusable rocketry on the American West Coast.
On the evening of October 7, 2018, a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from Vandenberg Air Force Base on California's Central Coast. The mission carried the SAOCOM 1A Earth-observation satellite, an Argentine radar-imaging satellite, into orbit. As the rocket ascended, the interaction between its exhaust gases and the Earth's upper atmosphere created a massive, luminous cloud. The spectacle was so striking that it appeared almost interstellar, prompting Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti to clarify to onlookers that the phenomenon was definitely not extraterrestrial.
The launch was significant not just for its visual impact, but for its technical achievement. As the two-stage booster descended, its small reaction-control thrusters fired to maintain stability. These precise pulses of light were captured in photographs, appearing to carve a large Wi-Fi symbol across the night sky. This maneuver was essential for the mission's secondary goal: the first-ever touchdown of a SpaceX booster on California soil.
While SpaceX had successfully landed first-stage boosters previously, those missions had concluded at Cape Canaveral in Florida or on robotic drone ships in the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. This particular mission saw the booster return to Vandenberg in less than eight minutes after liftoff. The event drew witnesses from across the state, from astrophotographers in Joshua Tree National Park to skywatchers on the Palos Verdes Peninsula, marking a new era of terrestrial landings for the company's reusable fleet.
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Sources
- Summary by Intellect · source: SpaceX's Spectacular Twilight Launch of SAOCOM
- Also: 'Definitely Not Aliens': These Photos of SpaceX's Night Rocket Launch and Landing Are Amazing! | Space
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