Central Pennsylvania was among numerous communities across the eastern United States that witnessed a rocket streaking across the morning sky on Tuesday morning.
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, which carried science experiments and supplies to the International Space Station, launched from the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station around 6:33 a.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 13.
The mission, SpaceX CRS-35, is the 35th resupply mission for NASA conducted by SpaceX so far, and consisted of a 230-foot Falcon 9 rocket carrying 6,500 pounds of supplies and science to the space station.
Thanks to the combination of the rocket’s trajectory with clear weather and an early-morning launch, the resulting exhaust plume was illuminated by the first light of the sun, creating a noctilucent cloud visible across most the east coast.
In the Hanover area, the rocket began to rise from the southern horizon several minutes after launch, racing across the sky until it faded in the eastern horizon.
As the rocket passed to the southeast of Hanover, the separation of the rocket’s first stage could be seen, with the bright light of the rocket briefly disappearing until the second stage began to illuminate moments later.
Along with supplies, research carried on the mission includes experiments related to producing artificial retinas, assessing microgravity’s effects on 3D heart tissue growth, studying glass formation from unconventional elements and investigating connections between inflammation and neurodegenerative diseases, according to USA Today.
While the plume visible in Central Pa. was relatively small in comparison to previous launches, viewers of the Oct. 13 launch in Florida were treated to the vivid ‘jellyfish cloud’ phenomenon as the exhaust gases were illuminated by the sun.
The ‘space jellyfish’ phenomenon can occur only during a short span of time just before sunrise — or just after sunset — when the ground is in darkness, but sunlight is shining across the upper atmosphere.
With the plume of exhaust stretching across much of the sky, the sunlight shines through the plume to create large tendrils of light in the sky, appearing — as the name suggests — much like a translucent jellyfish.
The October launch comes roughly two months after another SpaceX rocket, which launched from Florida on Aug. 25, 2026, had resulted in a much larger plume being visible in the Central Pa. area.
