A rocket launch from SpaceX amazed and even scared thousands of Southern California residents. Beverly White reports for the NBC4 News at 11 on Friday, Dec. 22, 2017.
SpaceX launched a rocket Friday night that streaked across the Southern California sky, prompting a flood of speculation about UFOs and Santa's new ride.
The launch of SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket happened at 5:27 p.m. from Vandenberg Air Force Base in Southern California. The rocket was set to deliver 10 satellites to low-Earth orbit for Iridium that makes mobile voice and data satellite communications.
It was the fourth set of 10 satellites in a series of 75 satellites that SpaceX will launch for the company's latest global satellite constellation, Iridium® NEXT, the company said in a statement.
The tech replaces the world's largest commercial satellite network of low-Earth orbit satellites in what SpaceX said was one of the largest "tech upgrades" in history.
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Many people tweeted about it, posting pictures and video, wondering if it was a UFO or Santa kicking it up a notch.
