A Sight That We Have Never Witnessed Before, have you?

While vacationing in New Smyrna Beach, Florida, we just happened to be there when the Space X Falcon 9 rocket was launched.

The gentleman who rented us his home clued me in on this event. Along with the e-mail he sent me was a launch countdown app, which would give us the precise time of liftoff. The launch was scrubbed several times due to the weather. High winds and overcast skies delayed this mission multiple times.

As the crow flies, Cape Canaveral was only 41 miles from our location. My buddy told us that if you want to see something cool, head to the beach and you'll be able to see the launch. The SpaceX Falcon 9 lifted off from Cape Canaveral Space Station on Tuesday, January 30, 2024. The rocket was carrying the Northrop Grumman Cygnus cargo capsule.
 
Onboard the Cygnus is more than 8,200 pounds of science and supplies for those living and working aboard the ISS. Some of the marquee science and research supplies include a surgical robot from the Virtual Incision Corporation, a semiconductor manufacturing device from Redwire Space, and a metal 3D printer from the European Space Agency, among many others.
 
https://spaceflightnow.com/2024/01/30/live-coverage-spacex-falcon-9-rocket-to-launch-cygnus-cargo-ship-to-space-station/

  
https://www.space.com/spacex-cygnus-cargo-spacecraft-ng-20-launch
 
 

   Cygnus cargo capsule situated on top of the Space X Falcon 9
https://www.space.com/spacex-cygnus-cargo-spacecraft-ng-20-launch
As the countdown app on my phone displayed 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, liftoff, the excitement of seeing our 1st ever rocket launch grew. It was not until a few more seconds had passed that we saw the rocket appear above the horizon.
 

As the rocket gained altitude it became more visible.

As the rocket continued on its journey to the International Space Station I clicked the shutter button again and again, hoping to get something. Out of the 25 pics I took, I captured just one photo that showed something else but blue skies.

Within a few seconds, the rocket had disappeared from sight, leaving behind the contrails seen here. The day was so calm the contrails lasted for at least 30 minutes.
  

Doing some reading up on this event I learned that the booster rocket would return to Earth and would also be visible to the naked eye. I guess most of the folks who had witnessed the launch didn't know this and left the beach within minutes after the launch. If they had stayed a little longer they would have seen the reentry.

Here is a short video of the incredible task of landing the rockets back on earth so that they can be reused.