Rocket launch puts on pre-dawn light show

ROANOKE, Va. (WDBJ) - If you were up extra early Sunday morning, you may have spotted a rare view of the SpaceX rocket launch from Cape Canaveral, Florida.

The light show was seen up and down the East Coast and featured one of the best viewings of the rocket our area has ever seen. “It requires a perfect mix of ingredients to occur,” according to Peter Forister, a professional photographer and Virginia Tech meteorology graduate. He managed to snap these amazing photos from the Charlottesville area.

The fact we had clear skies and very high clouds, combined with a northward trajectory, brought the rocket close enough for an amazing, prolonged viewing.

The WDBJ7 newsroom received photos and videos asking what they were seeing shortly after the launch around 6 a.m. Sunday. Could it be a meteor or space junk? One viewer even wondered if it were aliens.

The bright light of the rocket illuminated the vapor trail in the clear sky. It was even seen around areas with brighter, city lights including the Roanoke Valley. The photo below was taken from the Cave Spring area of Roanoke county.

The Falcon rocket was launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida and sent 60 StarLink communications satellites into space to use for internet services for remote areas of the world.

Students in Wise County, Virginia are some of the first in the country to benefit from a new high speed internet service delivered by satellite.

45 households in Wise are now taking advantage of a pilot project with the company SpaceX.

Wise County Public Schools received the equipment in early 2021. [View WDBJ7 story on the Wise County project]

The launch was a success and all the satellites have been deployed. Watch video from SpaceX of the deployment below.

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