'What was that?': SpaceX rocket launch lights up Central California sky

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- A show successful the skies implicit Central California near galore radical wondering... "What was that?"

It appeared arsenic a towering plume of achromatic smoke, dotted with glowing spots.

That was a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, launching from Vandenberg Space Force Base on the Central Coast.

The rocket was carrying 25 Starlink satellites into lowEarth orbit.

About 2 and a fractional minutes aft launch, the rocket's archetypal and 2nd stages separated.

The 2nd signifier continued connected into space, portion the archetypal signifier returned to Earth, making a harmless landing connected a drone vessel disconnected the seashore of Baja California, Mexico.

SpaceX launches rockets from Vandenberg astir erstwhile a week, but this 1 stood out.

Clear skies, combined with a twilight motorboat conscionable aft sunset, meant the rocket was inactive catching sunlight astatine higher elevations, making it particularly disposable crossed overmuch of the Valley.