Last week’s unexpected launch of a Space Force satellite from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California was done with just 27 hours’ notice, a new record, Live Science reports. But the launch of the satellite aboard the Alpha rocket apparently punched a literal hole in the ionosphere, appearing as a mysterious red spot in the night sky.
The satellite launch, done by contractor Firefly Aerospace, successfully deployed the Victus Nox–Latin for “conquer the night”–which will be used in a “space domain awareness” mission. Firefly was contracted to undertake a successful rocket launch, including securing and loading the cargo, within 24 hours’ notice to demonstrate the US Space Force’s capability to rapidly respond to a threat from space.
The hole in the ionosphere, which was created after a gas plume from the rocket could be seen 1,000 miles from the launch site, isn’t anything to worry about. Located between 50 and 400 miles above where gases are charged, the ionosphere glows red for a few hours after a rocket stage burns as it blasts toward space. A similar phenomenon was seen after a Space X launch in Arizona in July.