A blazing streak across the night sky left Southern California residents amazed on Saturday as the SpaceX CRS-32 Dragon cargo capsule reentered Earth’s atmosphere. The Dragon, which had just completed a resupply mission to the International Space Station, was visible across much of the western United States.
Residents in the Victor Valley spotted the luminous trail as it arced high in the sky before splashing down west of Camp Pendleton at around 10:45 p.m. Social media users from across the region reported witnessing the sight, with some even thinking it was a UFO.
Experts say the visual phenomenon was caused by atmospheric friction heating the spacecraft’s surface to extreme temperatures, creating a brief but spectacular show. The event marked the end of the CRS-32 mission, part of an ongoing partnership between SpaceX and NASA.
Local authorities received a handful of calls about a possible sonic boom, a common byproduct of spacecraft reentry at supersonic speeds. If you missed the event, you’re not alone – many people are still talking about it on social media with comments like, “SpaceX or celestial family? Either way, it was a show!”
Source: https://www.vvng.com/did-you-see-it-spacex-capsule-lights-up-socal-sky-during-reentry