A SpaceX launch on the Space Coast just after sunset Monday could mean the return of the unique jellyfish effect over Florida’s skies.
A Falcon 9 rocket on the Nusantara Lima mission carrying an Indonesian communications satellite to geosynchronous transfer orbit is set to lift off from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station’s Space Launch Complex 40 during a 116-minute window that opens at 8:02 p.m.
Sunset is set for 7:35 p.m., but the rocket’s path into space means its plume will catch the dipping sun rays with its exhaust trail potentially lighting up into what is often described as resembling a jellyfish in the night sky.
The phenomenon occurs when launches occur near sunrise or at twilight so the sun’s rays catch particles from the rocket contrail and create a bloom of blue and orange