It’s off! A space mission designed to help us learn more about clouds, gases, and radiation lifted off from the Central Coast.
SpaceX launched the European Space Agency’s EarthCARE mission from Vandenberg Space Force base. It’s a payload of four research instruments.
It took off at 3:20 Tuesday afternoon as planned, but low clouds and fog obscured the launch for much of the Tri-Counties.
The reusable first stage booster landed back at the base just a few hundred feet from the launch pad. It created sonic booms heard in parts of the region.
