Video From NJ Shows Rocket Blasting Across Night Sky

BELLEVILLE, NJ — When Frank Vélez went for a run and looked up at the night sky in Belleville on Tuesday, he saw a bright object – and it immediately caught his eye.

The Belleville councilman captured video footage of the object, which he shared on social media (view it below, or see it here).

What was it? A rocket, he said.

“From various reports, it turned out to be the United Launch Alliance’s Vulcan Centaur rocket, launched from Cape Canaveral for the U.S. Space Force,” Vélez wrote. “The spirals in the sky were sunlight reflecting off its vapor and have been visible flying across the country all night.”

According to the United Launch Alliance (ULA), the rocket lifted off at 8:56 p.m. on Tuesday from Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.

It marked the first National Security Space Launch aboard the next-generation rocket – which boosted two military satellites into space.

ULA president and CEO Tory Bruno said the Vulcan is a “catalyst to supporting national defense in the strategic warfighting domain of space.”

“This launch begins a new era in national space security,” Bruno said.

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