Did You Miss the SpaceX Rocket Sighting Over Michigan?

Nearly two days later, we’re still talking about what we saw Saturday night. And honestly, I’m still trying to wrap my head around it!

I can’t believe more people aren’t talking about the bizarre and unexpected cloud of haze and lights that appeared in the night sky above Michigan late Saturday. My friends and family considered every likely possibility: helicopter, satellite, comet-- or UFO?

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"THE TRUTH IS OUT THERE" - The X-Files

With the Perseid meteor shower currently underway above Michigan, I was looking for shooting stars on Saturday night, not UFOs! While I myself believe other intelligent life is out there (and possibly living among us), I found myself utterly confused and looking for any logical explanation when a different kind of light came streaking across the sky.

Let me set the scene for you: It was just before 11 p.m. Saturday night, August 15, and my friends, family and I were well into celebrating the annual Homecoming celebration in Pentwater, Michigan. And no, not “homecoming” like high school. I mean Homecoming as in everyone comes home for the weekend.

So, while many adult beverages and Jell-O shots had been consumed throughout the day and our eyes could have very well deceived us, I assure you, what we saw was real.

SpaceX Rocket Photo Michigan

A weird haze of light appeared from the southwest, but at first, it didn't seem like anything out of the ordinary. There had been some fog in the area, so we assumed it was some sort of strange weather phenomenon. Then a tail of light seemed to appear behind it.

So, was it a comet? Nope. Turns out it was a SpaceX rocket!

Yes, in Michigan! I wouldn't have thought anything launch from California or Florida would have any impact here in Michigan, so I was shocked to learn these were the Falcon9 rockets launched by SpaceX. The two rockets were launched only 38 minutes apart, setting a new record for, "for the shortest time between orbital flights", according to Space.com.

The first liftoff, from Florida's Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, occurred Saturday at 9:12 p.m. EDT and carried eight satellites to low Earth orbit (LEO) for Louisiana-based telecom company Globalstar...another one launched from Vandenberg Space Force Base, on California's central coast. That liftoff, at 9:50 p.m. EDT...kicked off a mission for the U.S. Space Force called USSF-366. -- Space.com

Other than a few random posts on Facebook, including one from New York state, I haven't seen any local news sources covering the bizarre sighting. Did you notice anything unusual in the sky late Saturday night?