A SpaceX Falcon 9 launched from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station at 6:33 a.m. Eastern on Tuesday, Oct. 13, sending a Dragon spacecraft toward the International Space Station.
The predawn launch from Space Launch Complex 40 also produced a bright, expanding plume that was visible as far away as Bulloch County, Georgia. The National Weather Service in Charleston confirmed the reported sightings were connected to the mission.
Such displays can occur before sunrise, when sunlight reaches rocket exhaust high in the atmosphere while the ground-level sky remains dark. As the exhaust spreads, it can form the broad glowing shape sometimes called a “space jellyfish.”
NASA said the Dragon spacecraft was carrying more than 6,300 pounds of scientific investigations and cargo for the space station. The shipment includes the final pair of International Space Station Roll-Out Solar Arrays, intended to increase the orbiting laboratory’s available electrical power.
Dragon is scheduled to arrive at the International Space Station at about 11 a.m. Thursday, Oct. 15, according to NASA.
