SpaceX launched an unpiloted Dragon cargo ship aboard a Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station at about 6:30 a.m. Tuesday.
The spacecraft is expected to reach the International Space Station carrying more than 6,300 pounds of research materials, spare parts and crew supplies, according to WFXB. Its cargo also includes two roll-out solar-array blankets, described as the final sets in a major upgrade intended to offset age-related degradation in the station’s original eight solar wings.
The early-morning launch was visible beyond Florida, including in North and South Carolina. As the rocket reached roughly 80 to 100 miles above Earth, its expanding exhaust plume was illuminated by the rising sun against the still-dark sky.
That lighting effect led some witnesses to describe the glowing trail as a “space jellyfish.”
