{"id":14856,"date":"2017-12-24T16:27:27","date_gmt":"2017-12-24T16:27:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/uncategorized\/2017\/12\/24\/rocket-lights-sky-as-it-carries-satellites-from-vandenberg-afb\/"},"modified":"2026-08-07T20:16:20","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T20:16:20","slug":"rocket-lights-sky-as-it-carries-satellites-from-vandenberg-afb","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/space\/2017\/12\/24\/rocket-lights-sky-as-it-carries-satellites-from-vandenberg-afb\/","title":{"rendered":"Rocket lights sky as it carries satellites from Vandenberg AFB"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. \u2014 A reused SpaceX rocket carried 10 satellites into orbit from California on Friday, leaving behind a trail of mystery and wonder as it soared into space.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Falcon 9 booster lifted off from coastal Vandenberg Air Force Base, carrying the latest batch of satellites for Iridium Communications.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The launch in the setting sun created a shining, billowing streak that was widely seen throughout Southern California and as far away as Phoenix.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Calls came in to TV stations as far afield as San Diego, more than 200 miles south of the launch site.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Cars stopped on freeways in Los Angeles so drivers and passengers could take pictures and video.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Los Angeles Fire Department issued an advisory that the \u201cmysterious light in the sky\u201d was from the rocket launch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP17357198921981.jpg.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-28558\" srcset=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP17357198921981.jpg.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP17357198921981.jpg.jpg?resize=300,200 300w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP17357198921981.jpg.jpg?resize=768,512 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The contrail from a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket is seen in the sky Friday, Dec. 22 2017, in Apple Valley, Calif. The launch was more than 200 miles from Apple Valley yet was still brilliantly visible. (James Quigg\/The Daily Press via AP)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Jimmy Golen, a sports writer for The Associated Press in Boston who was in Southern California for the holidays, said he and other tourists saw the long, glowing contrail while touring Warner Bros. studio in the Los Angeles suburb of Burbank.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cPeople were wondering if it had something to do with movies, or TV or a UFO,\u201d he said. \u201cIt was very cool.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The same rocket carried Iridium satellites into orbit in June. That time, the first stage landed on a floating platform in the Pacific Ocean. This time, the rocket was allowed to plunge into the water.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It was the 18th and final launch of 2017 for SpaceX, which has contracted to replace Iridium\u2019s system with 75 updated satellites. SpaceX has made four launches and expects to make several more to complete the job by mid-2018.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The satellites also carry payloads for global aircraft tracking and a ship-tracking service.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><br\/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A reused SpaceX rocket carried 10 satellites into orbit from California on Friday, leaving behind a trail of mystery and wonder as it soared into space.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":28554,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":23,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":[]},"categories":[160,36,23],"tags":[],"coauthors":[2916],"class_list":["post-14856","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-daily-news-roundup","category-newsletters","category-space"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"35X2ZBIELNABBCD4Q3K72XKRGE","arc_canonical_url":"\/news\/your-air-force\/2017\/12\/24\/rocket-lights-sky-as-it-carries-satellites-from-vandenberg-afb\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented 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