Early morning Vandenberg rocket launch ‘gave quite the show’ above SLO County. See the photos
At the crack of dawn Friday, Shell Beach resident Erik Olson stood on his balcony to catch a glimpse of a scheduled rocket launch from the Vandenberg Space Force Base as it painted the sky above San Luis Obispo County.
Olson follows all the rocket activity from Vandenberg, but said this morning’s launch was “particularly impressive.”
“The predawn light and the moisture in the atmosphere really enhanced the contrails,” he told The Tribune. “It looked like the rocket just missed the moon and then when the first stage re-enter(ed) the atmosphere, it gave quite the show.”
The Falcon 9 rocket launched from Vandenberg on schedule at 6:07 a.m. Friday morning as a part of the Starlink Mission.
The rocket, manufactured by SpaceX, successfully delivered 23 Starlink satellites into low-Earth orbit, according to the company’s post on X.
This was the fourth launch from Vandenberg so far in 2025 and the 23rd flight supporting this mission, according to the SpaceX website.
SpaceX posted a full length video of the launch on X.
This story was originally published January 24, 2025 at 10:04 AM.
