What was that in the western sky on Friday night that stopped traffic and sparked both alarm and curiosity?
As I suspected—since it came from the direction of Vandenburg AFB in southern California—it was just a rocket, unfortunately.
Sadly, no arrival of our more-than-welcome alien overlords.
Damn.
SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket, launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base at 5:27 p.m., was carrying 10 satellites to low-Earth orbit. The satellites will be part of a constellation operated by Iridium Communications. All 10 satellites successfully deployed.
Here's a short video of the launch shot in Los Angeles. Pretty impressive:
