SpaceX Launch Creates Space Jellyfish Effect Over Bay Area

A SpaceX rocket launch produced a glowing phenomenon resembling a giant jellyfish in the sky over the Bay Area early Tuesday morning, October 20, 2026. The Falcon 9 lifted off from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida at 7:04 a.m., carrying 32 payloads into orbit on the Bandwagon-5 rideshare mission, according to SpaceX launch information reported by Fox 13 News.

The unusual visual effect appeared shortly after liftoff as sunlight illuminated the expanding rocket exhaust plume high above the ground. Observers in the Bay Area remained in darkness while sunlight struck the plume at altitude, creating the luminous shape commonly described as a space jellyfish.

The Bandwagon-5 mission carried 32 payloads, including CubeSats, microsatellites and reentry vehicles. The launch added another flight to SpaceX's rideshare operations, which transport multiple payloads into orbit on a single rocket.

Tuesday's mission also marked the 19th flight of the Falcon 9 first-stage booster, according to SpaceX. The reusable booster had previously supported the Crew-9 mission, Firefly Blue Ghost Mission 1, Fram2 and several Starlink missions.

SpaceX planned to recover the first-stage booster after stage separation by landing it on the droneship A Shortfall of Gravitas in the Atlantic Ocean. The planned landing was part of the company's ongoing reuse of Falcon 9 first-stage hardware.

Fox 13 News reported that its information about the launch and the booster's flight history came from SpaceX, which supplied the mission details and previous-flight records.