This is what an evening SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launch from California’s Vandenberg Air Force Base can look like. The 4K time lapse was filmed by photographer Jesse Watson from the Imperial Sand Dunes near Glamis, California, around 547 kilometers (340 miles) southeast of the base.
The rocket launch, which put Argentina’s SAOCOM 1A satellite into orbit, was seen across Southern California. Los Angeles-based reporter Veronica Miracle caught a moment from the launch in real time:
So incredible seeing the @SpaceX rocket launch!!! It stops you in your tracks. Stunning. pic.twitter.com/qJJluVt6A0
— Veronica Miracle (@ABC7Veronica) October 8, 2018
And Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti tweeted:
Nope, definitely not aliens.
What you’re looking at is the first launch and landing of the @SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket on the West Coast. The rocket took off from Vandenberg Air Force Base at 7:21 p.m. and landed safely back on Earth. ? pic.twitter.com/8AKjGptpps
— Mayor Eric Garcetti (@MayorOfLA) October 8, 2018
And from director Dylan Schwartz, via Colossal:
Next: The 2017 Solar Eclipse from the shores of Palisades Reservoir, Idaho, FlightLapse #01 – MilkyWay, a time lapse view from the cockpit, and a night time lapse of Comet Lovejoy.
Bonus: SpaceX’s Falcon 9 crashes & landings.
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