Footage of what appears to be a rocket soaring over the Southern California sky on Sep. 14, 2023.
A rocket launch from Vandenburg Air Force Base in Santa Barbara County soared over the sky Thursday evening, piquing the interest of people across Southern California and as far as Arizona and Las Vegas.
NBC 7 and NBC LA viewers sent in video, tagged us in social media posts and called our desk to report the spectacle. The NWS in Las Vegas and the NBC affiliate in Phoenix reported seeing the exhaust trail around 7:30 PST.
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The rocket launch was a planned but unscheduled mission from U.S. Space Force’s Space Systems Command (SSC) and Firefly Aerospace. It was set for sometime between September and March but not exact date was given
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The Victus Nox mission was a test of U.S. ability to respond to threats. The launch took place 27 hours after receiving orders, a new record for responsive space launch, SSC said.
“This exercise is part of an end-to-end Tactically Responsive Space demonstration which proves the United States Space Force can rapidly integrate capabilities and will respond to aggression when called to do so on tactically relevant timelines,” SSC Lt. Gen. Michael Guetlein said.
For people across Southern California, it was something to behold -- the rocket pierced the sky with a yellow glow as an illuminated contrail streaked behind it at sunset. Here are some photos from our viewers:
