A Falcon 9 SpaceX rocket lit up the Southern California sky after a launch from Vandenberg Space Force Base Monday night.
The Falcon 9 rocket, which was carrying 22 Starlink satellites to low-earth orbit, lifted off the Starlink 7-16 mission from Space Launch Complex 4 East at 7:28 p.m., according to SpaceX.
This is the 10th launch for the Falcon 9 first stage booster, which has launched seven other Starlink missions and two missions for the U.S. Space Development Agency.
People across Southern California witnessed the stunning spectacle as a bright plume lit up the twilight sky, leaving a long trail of exhaust in its wake.
The launch also marks the 26th successful mission for SpaceX this year, with 16 of those flights including Starlink payloads, adding to Starlink’s “Mega-Constellation” of more than 5,500 satellites already in orbit.