SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket lights up skies over Puerto Rico with impressive trajectory

A Falcon 9 rocket from the company SpaceXIt lit up the skies of Puerto Rico this Sunday, leaving an impressive trail of light as it climbed into orbit, confirmed Eddie Irizarry RoblesHead of Scientific Outreach, Caribbean Astronomical Society Astronomical Society of the Caribbean (SAC), to do New day.

The rocket will first lift off from Cape Canaveral FloridaAt 5:30 p.m., its release was postponed to 6:35 p.m., at which time, according to Irizarry Robles, it proved to be the perfect moment for a sight more unusual than other events.

“Because the takeoff happened so close to dusk, we have the advantage that the rocket path is going to be higher, not just with propellant, but the rocket is going to get sunlight, so for us the path is going to be even brighter.”A science communicator explained.

At the time of discovery by the Puerto Ricans, the rocket was 112 miles above Puerto Rico. Their looks seemed so close and that was due, in part, to a curious fact shared by Iris Robles.

Earlier, SpaceX launched its rockets towards the Atlantic Ocean. However, starting in early 2020, the company started introducing them towards Puerto Rico. According to the former head of SAC, this not only allowed the satellites to be placed in the desired orbit, but also gave them an advantage: the recovery of the first stage of the rocket.

At this point, the rocket appears to be landing upside down, so a robotic boat or platform will have to be deployed to retrieve it, Irizarry Robles explained. 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 the robotic boat would still be installed if it set up these sites in calm waters in the direction of the Bahamas. High probability of recovery of the first stage of the rocket.

Falcon 9 will carry 23 additional Starlink satellites into space as part of a suite of satellites to deliver Internet.

For their part, it didn't take long for citizens to share their excitement on social networks after witnessing the spectacular trail of light that was the product of Falcon 9's launch.