If you were one of the hi desert residents who saw the squiggly cloud in the sky last night – that was from a rocket launching out of Vandenberg Space Force Base – located about 300 miles west of Joshua Tree. The rocket lifted off right before 7:30PM – it was a private spacecraft from Firefly Aerospace based out of Texas.
This is the third launch for the aerospace company – their first rocket launch in September of 2021 ended in a fireball when one of the rocket’s engines failed.
Because of the private launch – there were no details of the rocket’s payload or purpose – but it did leave a neat mark in the western skies last night.
Listener and weather-photographer Timothy Curry sent in this photo of the launch’s aftermath.
