See the 'Space Jellyfish' and Other Jaw-Dropping Views from SpaceX's Dragon LaunchBy Hanneke Weitering, Space.com Staff Writer | June 29, 2018 03:01pm ET
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifts off from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida just before dawn on June 29, 2018. Loaded on top of the rocket is a Dragon cargo spacecraft that will deliver supplies to the International Space Station.
Credit: Red Huber/Orlando Sentinel/Getty
Skywatchers who woke up early to see a SpaceX rocket launch from Florida today (June 29) were treated to quite a spectacle as the Falcon 9 rocket blazed into the predawn sky, and the photos they captured are jaw-dropping.
Topped with a used Dragon cargo spacecraft, the Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station at 5:42 a.m. EDT (0942 GMT) on a mission to deliver 5,900 lbs. (2,700 kilograms) of supplies and science gear to the International Space Station (ISS).
"We had a beautiful morning," Kirk Shireman, program manager for the ISS, said during a postlaunch news conference. "I was going to say 'breathtaking,' but maybe 'awakening' might be a better word." [In Photos: SpaceX's Dazzling Dragon Launch to Space Station]
As the Falcon 9 hauled the Dragon into low Earth orbit, the rocket's flames created an enormous, glowing halo in the morning twilight. "These pre-sunrise or post-sunset launches give for a spectacular show in the sky," Jessica Jensen, director of Dragon mission management for SpaceX, said at the news conference.
"Basically, what's happening is, it's still dark outside, but you have the sun illuminating the plume as it's in space," Jensen said. "I like to refer to it as the space jellyfish that's coming down after us."
Retired NASA astronaut Nicole Stott captured this photo of SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket as it launched a used Dragon cargo spacecraft to the International Space Station on June 29, 2018.
Credit: Courtesy of Nicole Stott
Retired NASA astronaut Nicole Stott caught that "space jellyfish" on camera while watching the launch from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. "Just wow!" Stott tweeted.
Retired NASA astronaut Nicole Stott caught that "space jellyfish" on camera while watching the launch from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. "Just wow!" Stott tweeted.
#SpaceX's
#Falcon9 rocket's exhaust plume illuminated as it climbs into the upper atmosphere, on its way to deliver
#CRS15 to orbit. Wow.
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