SpaceX's Falcon 9 pre-dawn launch leaves behind rainbow coloured sky, images go viral on social media

SpaceX on Saturday launched a Falcon 9 rocket carrying 58 StarLink satellites and three Planet Labs’ SkySat Earth-observing spacecraft. The Starlink-8 mission was SpaceX’s eighth batch of its latest Starlink satellites and the 540th placed into orbit. Along with the internet-providing satellites, SpaceX also launched three Planet Labs’ high-resolution Earth-observing spacecraft.

SpaceX launched its Falcon 9 rocket on Saturday 13 June, 2.46 pm IST (5.21 am EDT) from Cape Canaveral, Florida.

According to a report in Business Insider, as the rocket started its journey from Cape Canaveral, Florida and traversed over the Atlantic Ocean, it created a glowing-cloud phenomenon which multiple people documented and shared on social media. The cloud was created due to the rocket’s exhaust fumes catching the morning’s sunlight.

[caption id="" align=“alignnone” width=“1280”] The blue rainbow that took place because of the Starlink launch. Image credit: Twitter/@johnpisaniphoto[/caption]

Minutes after the launch, photographer John Pisani tweeted two mesmerising long-exposure photographs that he had captured of the rocket ascending to orbit. “An epic display on Florida’s Space Coast this morning,” Pisani captioned.

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An epic display on Florida’s Space Coast this morning! @SpaceX #falcon9 #starlink @planetlabs @elonmusk pic.twitter.com/INn4qGDY4N

— John Pisani (@johnpisaniphoto) June 13, 2020

The entire time-lapse of entire pre-dawn Falcon 9 launch was shared on Twitter by John Kraus, the house photographer for the space media company SuperCluster.

Time lapse of this morning’s stunning pre-dawn Falcon 9 launch from Cape Canaveral.

🎥: Me for @SuperclusterHQ pic.twitter.com/ZWhmsxL5lC

— John Kraus (@johnkrausphotos) June 13, 2020

SuperCluster also shared a still image captured by Kraus showing how the expanding exhaust plume brightened the predawn twilight with a rainbow of colours.

A luminous sight over Cape Canaveral as #SpaceX successfully launches 58 Starlink satellites and three of @planetlabs's SkySats to orbit on a reusable Falcon 9 rocket

📷: @johnkrausphotos for Supercluster pic.twitter.com/jLpssRhXcH

— Supercluster (@SuperclusterHQ) June 13, 2020

A picture captured and shared by photographer Greg Diesel Walck highlighted how the high-altitude winds blew around the exhaust trail, creating a snake-like pattern in the sky.

Noctilucent cloud from @SpaceX launch this morning seen across Florida at Ft Myers. @SPACEdotcom @tariqjmalik #spacex #nasa #florida pic.twitter.com/PDHcVc6VWL

— Greg Diesel Walck (@GregDieselPhoto) June 13, 2020

Teacher and part-time reporter Jamie Groh also tweeted a picture of the predawn Falcon 9 launch. The image that Groh captured was captured 140 miles away from the rocket’s launch site.

“WOAH! A #SpaceX #Starlink launch into astronomical twilight is the absolute BEST WAY to start your day. I’m fairly certain all of my neighbors were wondering why there was a crazy lady outside screaming at 5 am,” Groh wrote.

According to a report in CBS, SkySats provide high-definition commercial imagery which can be used by government agencies or other establishments to monitor a number of things on a daily basis.

With the launch of the SkySats, SpaceX plans to begin offering space-based internet service across the northern United States and Canada later in 2020 with an initial fleet of more than 700 satellites, the report added.