Southern Californians looking skyward Monday night might have caught a glimpse of a SpaceX rocket after its launch from Vandenberg Space Force Base.
The rocket carrying 15 Starlink internet satellites into low-Earth orbit is launched from the base northwest of Santa Barbara at 8:57 p.m.
Launches before sunrise and after sunset offer more spectacular viewing with a darker sky in the background and, possibly, a sunlit rocket.
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After separation, the first-stage booster landed on the Of Course I Still Love You droneship stationed in the Pacific Ocean. This was the booster's fifth flight.
SpaceX has a Starlink constellation of satellites orbiting Earth about 340 miles up, shuttled into space by the Hawthorne-based company's rockets. The Starlink network is designed to deliver high-speed internet anywhere around the globe.
If light conditions are right, the satellites appear in a train as they parade across the night sky. The satellites are sometimes visible in the first few minutes after sundown and before sunrise when the sun is below the horizon, but the satellites are high enough to reflect direct sunlight.
Use the FindStarlink tracker to find the best upcoming viewing times.
