CLARKSBURG, W.Va. (WBOY) — People across West Virginia reported seeing a bright light flying across the sky, but it wasn’t a comet or a meteor — it was actually a rocket.
SpaceX launched a Falcon 9 rocket from the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida early Tuesday morning. According to the Associated Press, the rocket is part of the Polaris Dawn mission, which hopes to complete the first-ever private space walk and venture the furthest into space since NASA’s Apollo moonshots, the last of which was in 1972.
West Virginians from Cheat Lake to Barrackville to West Milford sent NewsNation affiliate WBOY photos and videos of the rocket, which streaked across the sky after its launch at 5:23 a.m. ET.
People also reported seeing the rocket in neighboring Virginia and Pennsylvania.
The four-person crew will remain in space for five days inside the Crew Dragon space capsule. The spacewalk is scheduled for Sept. 12 at 2:23 a.m. (ET). You can re-watch the full livestream of the launch online here and keep up with the mission on SpaceX’s website.
Did you see it? Photos and videos of the rocket can be sent to the WBOY 12 News Facebook page or emailed to wboydigital@nexstar.tv.