Mysterious Object Spotted In VA Skies Tuesday Night: Here's What It Was

Virginia residents who looked up at the night sky late Tuesday might've seen something that sent them into an X-Files-esque spiral of curiosity: a bizarrely lit-up shape, almost like a bright cloud, shimmering across the sky in unmistakable UFO fashion.

And while it wasn't an alien craft or even an unidentified flying object, it was indeed a partially classified government operation.

The strange light and shapes seen were the Vulcan rocket, launched by United Launch Alliance in Cape Canaveral, Florida, on behalf of the U.S. Space Force.

It was no routine rocket launch: It marked the first "national security"-related launch of materials by the powerful Vulcan rocket into orbit, officials said.

The specifics of the rocket's payload are classified and were not disclosed by Space Force, but they did say it included an experimental military navigation satellite along with other items, and that they were successfully put in orbit around the Earth.

The rocket was launched at 8:56 p.m., and reports of sightings came in from across much of the eastern United States and the Midwest shortly thereafter.

The sighting was made even more brilliant for some by the timing of it, which coincided with some of the Perseid meteor showers.

Here's a glance at what one Virginia resident saw:

“Vulcan is a catalyst to supporting national defense in the strategic warfighting domain of space,” Tory Bruno, United Launch Alliance's president and CEO, said in a statement. “Vulcan is the world’s most capable, high-energy orbit rocket meeting the demand for expanding space competencies. Vulcan provides flexibility to our nation’s decision makers as we combat our adversaries' attempts to disrupt the U.S. in space operations.

He continued, "This launch begins a new era in national space security.”

The rocket traveled seven hours and covered some 22,000 miles to complete its mission, officials said.

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