People in Tucson are wondering what they saw in the western sky around 7:30 Thursday evening. Was it a comet? Was it a shooting star? Was it a UFO?
It turned out to be a rocket launch.
Texas-based small launch company Firefly Aerospace has launched FLTA003, the third flight of its Alpha launch vehicle, on a dedicated mission for the U.S. Space Force.
The launch took place at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. The outcome of the mission is currently unknown.
The mission showed the United States’ capacity to launch a satellite into orbit quickly for national security.
The satellite, manufactured by Millennium Space, will perform space domain awareness tasks.
Firefly’s Alpha rocket offers a higher payload capacity than similar small satellite launch vehicles, and the company continues to expand its launch services and portfolio.