SpaceX launched an unmanned, robotic spaceplane to orbit for the U.S. Space Force in the USSF-36 mission on Thursday night.
The Falcon 9 carrying the spaceplane lifted off from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida shortly before midnight, with the rocket’s night flight producing a dazzling fireworks show immediately after stage separation.
The moment was captured by news outlet NASASpaceflight and shared on social media. Stick with it, as things really kick off just past the 20-second mark (in the bottom video).
The dramatic footage clearly shows the boost-back burn of the Falcon 9 rocket’s first stage.
The spectacular “Falcon 9 nebula” — so called because of its similarity to the colorful gaseous clouds in deep space — is created by the boost-back burn’s exhaust plume as three of the rocket’s nine Merlin engines briefly reignite high in Earth’s atmosphere.
The maneuver takes place just after the booster separates from the upper-stage carrying the payload, in this case the spaceplane. The critical process initiates the booster’s return to the landing site around five minutes later.
Bringing the first-stage booster back to Earth and landing it upright back at the launch site, or on a droneship in the ocean, allows SpaceX to reuse the vehicle multiple times, saving on costs and enabling a higher launch frequency.
The Falcon 9 left the launchpad at 11:50 p.m. ET on Thursday in the sixth flight for this particular first-stage booster, which previously launched NROL-69, CRS-32, GPS III-7, and two Starlink missions. The booster landed safely back at Cape Canaveral, Florida.
The USSF-36 mission marked the eighth launch of NASA’s X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle (OTV-8) and the third Falcon 9 launch of the spacecraft, after SpaceX previously launched OTV-5 and OTV-7 (USSF-52).
The commercial spaceflight company is set for a big day on Sunday when it launches the massive Starship rocket for the 10th time. If you’re interested in witnessing what promises to be another breathtaking launch, Digital Trends has all the information you need.
