VIDEO: No, that wasn’t a UFO… Bullard resident shares clip as SpaceX launches Starlink satellites

Published 5:35 am Sunday, October 15, 2023

BULLARD — East Texas residents reported a strange light in the sky as SpaceX launched its Starlink Mission on Friday night.

SpaceX launched a Falcon 9 rocket carrying 22 Starlink satellites to low-Earth orbit from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida on Friday at 6:01 p.m. local time. After orbiting the Earth, the rocket burned up in its second stage south of El Paso. During the rocket burn, combined with the glow in the night sky, some Texas residents became confused and believed it was a UFO sighting.

Many East Texans reported the sighting and had questions about it. Readers, like Chuck and Tammy Stephenson of Bullard, shared the sight with Tyler Morning Telegraph. Tammy took this video and shared it with us:

The National Weather Service said the light was from the rocket.

CBS19 Chief Meteorologist Brett Anthony also confirmed the bright sighting was the SpaceX rocket Falcon 9 shining in the sky.