Saturday’s SpaceX launch puts on a show over the Outer Banks

On Saturday at 8:34 p.m., SpaceX launched the Falcon 9’s European Commission’s Galileo L12 mission to medium Earth orbit from Launch Complex 39A at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, and folks on Hatteras and Ocracoke Islands were able to catch the show from multiple locations.

This was the 20th flight of the first stage booster supporting this mission, which previously launched GPS III-3, Turksat 5A, Transporter-2, Intelsat G-33/G-34, Transporter-6, Intuitive Machines IM-1, and 13 Starlink missions.

The launch added to the Galileo constellation, Europe’s equivalent of the United States’ Global Positioning System (GPS), according to Space.com. Twenty-eight Galileo satellites have been launched to date, and the Galileo satellites reside in medium Earth orbit, approximately 14,430 miles above the planet.

For more information on Saturday’s launch, as well as upcoming SpaceX launches that may be visible from the Outer Banks, click here.