PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — No, that wasn’t a UFO.
Many in the greater Philadelphia region reported seeing a mysterious, bright light streaking across the sky early Sunday morning. Meanwhile, Derrick Pitts, an astronomer at The Franklin Institute, was woken by several emails and texts, asking, “What was that thing in the sky?”
“What you were seeing was the exhaust from a SpaceX Falcon 9 vehicle carrying 60 Starlink satellites up to orbit,” he explained. “As it made its way to orbit, the trajectory it flew along brought it right off the East Coast of the U.S. out of the Atlantic Ocean.”
The spacecraft launched from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 6:01 a.m. Sunday.
Pitts said it’s rare that spacecraft are seen from this region. Their trajectories are usually not along the East Coast, and the altitude isn’t high enough to be viewed. But this launch was different.
“It’s the defining thing that separates access to space 15 years ago and access now,” he said. “That defining thing is that the booster that was used was flying its ninth mission.”
In the past, spacecraft didn’t recycle materials, especially boosters. This makes space exploration cheaper and more accessible. So not only did people from the area catch a rare sighting of a SpaceX launch, but they also witnessed the future of space travel.
“It’s a great sight for people to see,” said Pitts.
SpaceX launches can be followed on the SpaceX website or on your smartphone with the MissionClock app.