Timelapse Captures Dramatic SpaceX Rocket Launch

In its last launch of the year, on Friday, December 22, SpaceX successfully sent a communications satellite into orbit and created a stir on social media.

The Falcon 9 rocket and its cargo of the Iridium-4 became visible across parts of California, Nevada, and Arizona shortly after blasting off from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. Elon Musk responded to the uproar, which saw the hashtag #aliens trending briefly on Twitter in Los Angeles, by tweeting “Nuclear alien UFO from North Korea,” with a video of the launch.

This timelapse captures the launch of the Falcon 9 rocket from Newport Beach, California. Credit: Twitter/dannysullivan via Storyful