A mysterious bright object streaked across the Southern California sky Friday night, and folks started to immediately — and rightly — freak out. I mean, look at this:
WTH just flew over Los Angeles...
Most people seemed to have one thought in mind: 👽 👽 👽
#losangeles WHAT IS GOING ON IN THE SKY??? #ufo
So a weird object is flying in the sky right now. It was emitting a weird colorful smoke and a bright light. So bas… https://t.co/I97l12orZ7
OMG what if its North Korea!?!? (It wasn't.)
If these are aliens or North Koreans I love you all. (Well, like 20% of you)
Or what if Santa Claus got a serious upgrade to his sled?
What the hell is this that just flew over L.A. and sprayed some mist all over us???
Turns out there's a much more simple answer. That streak cutting across the sky was yet another launch from SpaceX, which launched a rocket from Vanderberg Air Force Base on the California coast.
Thanks @passantino for explaining what this was. I thought/hoped the aliens had finally come for us 👽
According to SpaceX, the Falcon 9 rocket launched Friday night was carrying a satellite for Iridium, a satellite phone provider.
Launch underway https://t.co/llNdEWbHBp
The satellites are a replacement for a current network of low-Earth orbit commercial satellites currently circling the planet.
“The process of replacing the satellites one-by-one in a constellation of this size and scale has never been completed before,” SpaceX said in a statement.
Friday’s mission was the fourth in a series of 10 satellite launches for Elon Musk’s SpaceX.
Still, the rocket seemed to catch many people off guard, and was spotted from as far away as Las Vegas.
#BREAKING what is it and what does it want?!?! Bright light spotted in Primm/Stateline area. No, it’s not the… https://t.co/YHZfddhaQZ
And in Arizona.
We'll rely on the news to tell us what this is in the western sky. Whatever it is, it's mysterious and very pretty.
Here's a better look at tonight's Falcon 9 rocket launch as viewed over downtown Phoenix. #falcon9 #SpaceX
People wanted answers.
What the hell is this?
At least we know its not aliens, right?
#losangeles WHAT IS GOING ON IN THE SKY??? #ufo
Well 😳 😳 😳 😳 😳 😳
@CristatoLive @SpaceX It was definitely aliens