SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket lights up the sky over Puerto Rico with an impressive trajectory

Falcon 9 rocket from the company SpaceXThe skies of Puerto Rico lit up on Sunday, leaving behind an impressive trail of light as it ascended into orbit. Eddie Irizarry RoblesChair of Scientific Publishing of the Caribbean Astronomical Society Society of Caribbean Astronomy (SAC), to The new day.

The rocket was originally scheduled to lift off from Cape Canaveral, in the state Floridaat 5:30 p.m. However, its launch was postponed to 6:35 p.m., a time that, according to Irzarry Robles, proved to be the ideal moment for a more extraordinary viewing than other occasions.

“Because the liftoff occurred so close to dusk, we had the advantage that the rocket's path would always be illuminated, not only by the propellant itself, but also because at the altitude at which the rocket would be rocketing,” it would receive sunlight, so the trajectory would be more Lighting for us.”Science communication explained.

At the time the Puerto Ricans spotted it, the missile was at an approximate altitude of 112 miles over Puerto Rico. Their appearance seemed very close, partly due to a strange fact that Irizarry Robles shared.

SpaceX has previously launched its rockets towards the Atlantic Ocean. However, since the beginning of 2020, the company has been launching towards Puerto Rico. According to the former head of SAC, this not only allowed them to place the satellites in the desired orbit, but also gave them an advantage: recovering the first stage of the rocket.

Irizarry Robles explained that during this stage the missile appears as if it is landing in the opposite direction, so a boat or automated platform must be placed to receive it. In the past, these boats were located in the waters of the Atlantic Ocean towards the northeast.

However, when SpaceX decided to launch in the direction of Puerto Rico, it calculated that if it located these platforms in calmer waters, such as those in the direction of the Bahamas, the robotic boat would be more stable, and therefore there would be a greater possibility of recovering the first stage of the rocket.

The Falcon 9 will carry an additional 23 Starlink satellites into space as part of a constellation to provide satellite internet.

For their part, citizens did not take long to take to social media to share their excitement after witnessing the bright path of light, the product of the Falcon 9 launch.