An unannounced rocket launch from the Central Coast which was seen hundreds of miles away is being called a success by U.S. Space Force officials.
Maybe you saw it. A Firefly Aerospace Alpha rocket took off from Vandenberg Space Force Base at 7:28 Thursday night. Because it happened at dusk, it was seen as far away as San Diego, and Phoenix.
The mission called Victus Nox was a test to see how quickly a military payload could be prepared, and then launched. U.S. Space Force officials say the team did it in 27 hours, successfully launching a payload into a low earth orbit. They say the goal is that during a crisis, something like a satellite could be put into orbit with little notice.
It's only the third flight of one of the two-stage Alpha rockets. The first was a failure, and the second didn't get its payload into a full low earth orbit as planned.
