SUMTER, S.C. — Residents of the South Carolina coast and even parts of the Midlands who happened to look to the sky around 6 p.m. may have seen something a little unusual - and somewhat otherworldly.
Fortunately, there is a very earthly - and cool - explanation.
A SpaceX rocket took off from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida at around 5:56 p.m. and was described by one Sumter resident who called in as both beautiful and a bit scary.
Another viewer actually caught the launch on their dashcam. Shawn Woods caught the bright light and trail of the rocket as he drove along a South Carolina road.
But residents along the coast got perhaps the best show of all. Mark Moore shared a photo from Sunset Beach just over the North Carolina border that shows the rocket and its long trail on a backdrop of a glowing orange ocean sunset.
The rocket was launched as part of a mission for the U.S. Space Force and used the SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket which includes two reusable side boosters which are capable of returning to Earth.