Tonight’s Falcon 9 Launch Out Of Vandenberg

I was hoping that tonight’s Falcon 9 launch out of Vandenberg would be soon enough after sunset so that we would get a spectacular “jellyfish” effect. That’s when the huge cloud of turbulent gas being released by the rocket engines is high enough to still be in the light of the sun, while down below we’re in darkness already. It’s really, REALLY cool! (Like this one from December, 2017!)

Tonight – close, no cigar.

Oh, I saw the launch, it was great! Clear as a bell here, so I could follow the second stage for over five minutes as it headed toward the southern horizon, out over the San Fernando Valley:

And the video I got as it came up over the mountains to the west and climbed toward MECO (Main Engine Cut Off) was decent:

But it would be nice to get to see a couple of launches close up. Like, as close as I can get without either being arrested or pulped by the acoustic energy.

Of course, ultimately I would like a seat on the pointy end… One step at a time.