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Falcon 9 Block 5 | Starlink Group 10-42 — what you saw in the sky & launch recap

A batch of 29 satellites for the Starlink mega-constellation - SpaceX's project for space-based Internet communication system.

Falcon 9 Block 5 on the pad

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Rocket
Falcon 9 Block 5
Provider
SpaceX
Launch site
Cape Canaveral SFS, FL, USA
Status
Launch Successful

Liftoff time

What you saw

If you spotted a moving light in the sky from Port Canaveral, FL · Titusville, FL · Merritt Island, FL or nearby, this launch is very likely what it was.

This was a space-jellyfish launch

Falcon 9 Starlink Group 10-42 lifted off in dawn twilight, with the Sun about 13.3° below the horizon at the pad. Our geometry model graded the jellyfish chance high: the exhaust climbed into sunlight around T+4–5 min while the ground was still dark, which is the recipe for the glowing bell-and-tentacles cloud people photograph.

The grade is geometry, not a sighting report. Whether you saw the plume depended on clouds, your horizon and which direction you were facing.

What a space jellyfish is, and how we predict it → · Every upcoming launch graded for a jellyfish →

Visibility map: how far away could you see it?

Each ring shows how far away Falcon 9 Block 5 was line-of-sight visible that many seconds into flight: about 89 miles by T+30s, 192 miles by T+60s, and roughly 305 miles by T+90s. City dots are colored by the expected view quality; the table below has the direction to look from each.

N ↑ T+90s T+75s T+60s T+45s T+30s T+15s Orlando, FL — 49 mi from the pad · excellent view expected Orlando Tampa, FL — 122 mi from the pad · excellent view expected Tampa Jacksonville, FL — 138 mi from the pad · excellent view expected Jacksonville Miami, FL — 195 mi from the pad · excellent view expected Miami Melbourne, FL — 33 mi from the pad · excellent view expected Melbourne Daytona Beach, FL — 52 mi from the pad · excellent view expected Daytona Beach Vero Beach, FL — 65 mi from the pad · excellent view expected Vero Beach Fort Pierce, FL — 78 mi from the pad · excellent view expected Fort Pierce Port St. Lucie, FL — 90 mi from the pad · excellent view expected Port St. Lucie West Palm Beach, FL — 132 mi from the pad · excellent view expected West Palm Beach Fort Lauderdale, FL — 171 mi from the pad · excellent view expected Fort Lauderdale St. Augustine, FL — 102 mi from the pad · excellent view expected St. Augustine Space Launch Complex 40
Falcon 9 Block 5 | Starlink Group 10-42 visibility range: each ring marks how far away the rocket was above the horizon that many seconds after liftoff, out to about 305 miles at T+90s. Rings are line-of-sight geometry from a representative ascent profile, centered on the pad — the rocket also travels downrange, stretching views along its track, and night launches are often visible well beyond the outer ring. Assumes clear skies and an open horizon.

Which cities could see this launch?

Estimated visibility from major towns near US launch sites, assuming clear skies and an open horizon at the time of liftoff. The 10 most likely first:

CityVisibilityLook towardDistance to pad
Port Canaveral, FL Excellent north-northeast 11 mi
Titusville, FL Excellent east-southeast 15 mi
Merritt Island, FL Excellent north-northeast 16 mi
Cocoa Beach, FL Excellent north 17 mi
Mims, FL Excellent east-southeast 17 mi
Rockledge, FL Excellent north-northeast 18 mi
Satellite Beach, FL Excellent north 26 mi
Indialantic, FL Excellent north 33 mi
Melbourne, FL Excellent north 33 mi
Palm Bay, FL Excellent north 37 mi
Show all 94 cities
CityVisibilityLook towardDistance to pad
New Smyrna Beach, FL Excellent south-southeast 39 mi
Sanford, FL Excellent east-southeast 45 mi
Orlando, FL Excellent east 49 mi
Sebastian, FL Excellent north 52 mi
Daytona Beach, FL Excellent south-southeast 52 mi
Kissimmee, FL Excellent east-northeast 54 mi
Vero Beach, FL Excellent north 65 mi
Fort Pierce, FL Excellent north 78 mi
Palm Coast, FL Excellent south-southeast 80 mi
Port St. Lucie, FL Excellent north 90 mi
Lakeland, FL Excellent east-northeast 91 mi
St. Augustine, FL Excellent south-southeast 102 mi
Tampa, FL Excellent east-northeast 122 mi
Gainesville, FL Excellent southeast 129 mi
West Palm Beach, FL Excellent north-northwest 132 mi
Jacksonville, FL Excellent south-southeast 138 mi
Fort Lauderdale, FL Excellent north 171 mi
Brunswick, GA Excellent south-southeast 187 mi
Miami, FL Excellent north 195 mi
Valdosta, GA Excellent southeast 226 mi
Savannah, GA Excellent south 245 mi
Hilton Head Island, SC Excellent south 253 mi
Tallahassee, FL Good east-southeast 258 mi
Charleston, SC Excellent south 294 mi
Myrtle Beach, SC Excellent south-southwest 368 mi
Pensacola Beach, FL Fair east-southeast 413 mi
Gulf Shores, AL Fair east 444 mi
Norfolk, VA Good south-southwest 624 mi
Virginia Beach, VA Excellent south-southwest 632 mi
Newport News, VA Good south-southwest 635 mi
Richmond, VA Good south-southwest 646 mi
Cape Charles, VA Good south-southwest 657 mi
Exmore, VA Good south-southwest 678 mi
Onancock, VA Good south-southwest 691 mi
Wallops Island, VA Good south-southwest 709 mi
Chincoteague, VA Good south-southwest 713 mi
Pocomoke City, MD Good south-southwest 717 mi
Salisbury, MD Good south-southwest 735 mi
Berlin, MD Good south-southwest 741 mi
Washington, DC Good south-southwest 743 mi
Ocean City, MD Good south-southwest 746 mi
Annapolis, MD Good south-southwest 757 mi
Rehoboth Beach, DE Good south-southwest 769 mi
Baltimore, MD Good south-southwest 775 mi
Cape May, NJ Good south-southwest 787 mi
Dover, DE Good south-southwest 787 mi
Ocean City, NJ Good south-southwest 816 mi
Philadelphia, PA Good south-southwest 845 mi
Grand Isle, LA Not visible — 572 mi
Rockport, TX Not visible — 1002 mi
Port Aransas, TX Not visible — 1004 mi
Corpus Christi, TX Not visible — 1025 mi
South Padre Island, TX Not visible — 1032 mi
Port Isabel, TX Not visible — 1035 mi
Laguna Vista, TX Not visible — 1039 mi
Bayview, TX Not visible — 1046 mi
Los Fresnos, TX Not visible — 1051 mi
Brownsville, TX Not visible — 1055 mi
Harlingen, TX Not visible — 1062 mi
McAllen, TX Not visible — 1094 mi
Laredo, TX Not visible — 1156 mi
San Diego, CA Not visible — 2183 mi
Pasadena, CA Not visible — 2237 mi
Mojave, CA Not visible — 2239 mi
Long Beach, CA Not visible — 2240 mi
Los Angeles, CA Not visible — 2243 mi
Malibu, CA Not visible — 2268 mi
Thousand Oaks, CA Not visible — 2277 mi
Bakersfield, CA Not visible — 2287 mi
Oxnard, CA Not visible — 2296 mi
Ventura, CA Not visible — 2303 mi
Santa Barbara, CA Not visible — 2326 mi
Fresno, CA Not visible — 2332 mi
Solvang, CA Not visible — 2351 mi
Buellton, CA Not visible — 2353 mi
Los Alamos, CA Not visible — 2358 mi
Santa Maria, CA Not visible — 2367 mi
Orcutt, CA Not visible — 2367 mi
Lompoc, CA Not visible — 2369 mi
Vandenberg Village, CA Not visible — 2369 mi
Guadalupe, CA Not visible — 2375 mi
Pismo Beach, CA Not visible — 2378 mi
San Luis Obispo, CA Not visible — 2380 mi
San Jose, CA Not visible — 2450 mi

Where to look

A rocket lifts off below the horizon for distant viewers, then climbs into view as it gains altitude and flies downrange. Closer to the pad you'll see it within seconds; a few hundred miles away it can take three to six minutes to rise over the horizon. Find an open view in the direction shown for your city and start watching at liftoff.

10° 33° T+10s T+5m 10s
From Port Canaveral, FL: rose T+10s in the NNE, peaked 33°.
10° 34° T+10s T+5m 10s NE E
From Titusville, FL: rose T+10s in the ESE, peaked 34°.
10° 31° T+10s T+5m 10s NE
From Merritt Island, FL: rose T+10s in the NNE, peaked 31°.

Watch the live webcast Official launch details More from SpaceX ↗

What was that in the sky? FAQ

What was the glowing plume in the sky over Florida on July 9, 2026?

Most likely Falcon 9 Block 5 | Starlink Group 10-42: a Falcon 9 Block 5 launched by SpaceX from Cape Canaveral SFS, FL, USA at 5:25 AM EDT. From Port Canaveral, FL it appeared low in the north-northeast sky and climbed toward the northeast as it headed downrange.

Which cities could see the Falcon 9 Block 5 | Starlink Group 10-42 launch?

With clear skies, it was likely visible from Port Canaveral, FL; Titusville, FL; Merritt Island, FL; Cocoa Beach, FL; Mims, FL; Rockledge, FL, and from other towns within a few hundred miles of Cape Canaveral SFS, FL, USA. The city-by-city table on this page shows the estimated view from each.

Why did this launch look like a glowing jellyfish?

Because it lifted off in dawn twilight: the ground was dark, but a few minutes into flight (around T+4–5 min) the exhaust plume climbed out of Earth’s shadow into sunlight and glowed against the dark sky. Our geometry model graded the jellyfish chance high for this launch; whether you saw it depended on clouds, your horizon and the direction you were facing.

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Launch data from TheSpaceDevs Launch Library 2. Page generated October 14, 2026.