{"id":14098,"date":"2017-12-28T17:50:05","date_gmt":"2017-12-28T09:50:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-productionenv-bjg9h2g2bgg5b8aa.southeastasia-01.azurewebsites.net\/news\/falcon-9-launch-lights-up-southern-california-sky\/"},"modified":"2017-12-28T17:50:05","modified_gmt":"2017-12-28T09:50:05","slug":"falcon-9-launch-lights-up-southern-california-sky","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/news\/falcon-9-launch-lights-up-southern-california-sky\/","title":{"rendered":"Falcon 9 launch lights up Southern California sky"},"content":{"rendered":"

Take a look back at the Dec. 22 liftoff of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, a launch that was visible across Southern California and as far away as Arizona as the booster climbed into sunlight at dusk to deliver 10 commercial Iridium communications satellites to orbit.<\/p>\n

The 229-foot-tall (70-meter) rocket blasted off from Vandenberg\u2019s Space Launch Complex 4-East at 5:27 p.m. PST Dec. 22 (8:27 p.m. EST; 0127 GMT), heading south over the Pacific Ocean on a trajectory roughly parallel to the Southern California coastline.<\/p>\n

Launch occurred shortly after sunset, and the Falcon 9\u2019s expanding exhaust plume caught beams of sunlight as it soared above the stratosphere.<\/p>\n

Spectacular images shared by Spaceflight Now readers showed the rocket\u2019s first stage firing cold gas nitrogen thrusters and reigniting its engines shortly after detaching from the Falcon 9\u2019s upper stage. The first stage, on its second flight after being refurbished following a launch earlier this year, made a controlled descent back to the Pacific Ocean, but SpaceX did not plan to recover the booster on the Dec. 21 mission.<\/p>\n

The Falcon 9\u2019s aerodynamic nose cone split open and fell away in two pieces shortly after the mission\u2019s three-minute point, and control thrusters on the fairing were also visible pulsing to position the pieces for re-entry. SpaceX is experimenting with recovering the Falcon 9\u2019s fairing off shore for reuse, as the company does with its Falcon 9 first stages.<\/p>\n

The unique twilight lighting effect dazzled skywatchers and those not expecting the launch alike.<\/p>\n

These photos included images released by SpaceX and provided to Spaceflight Now by photographer Gene Blevins of the LA Daily News and our readers.<\/p>\n

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Credit: SpaceX<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Credit: SpaceX<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Credit: Gene Blevins\/LA Daily News<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Credit: Gene Blevins\/LA Daily News<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Credit: SpaceX<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Credit: Gene Blevins\/LA Daily News<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Credit: Gene Blevins\/LA Daily News<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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This long exposure photo was captured from a viewpoint at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California. Credit: SpaceX<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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This long exposure photo was captured from a viewpoint near Los Angeles International Airport. Credit: SpaceX<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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This long exposure photo was captured from a viewpoint at SpaceX headquarters in Hawthorne, California. Credit: SpaceX<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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This view of the Falcon 9\u2019s launch was captured by Twitter user @medic2216 from Peoria, Arizona.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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This photo of the Falcon 9 launch was captured during the second stage burn from Gila Bend, Arizona, by Twitter user @bperlow21.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n