If you looked up early Tuesday and wondered what was in the sky, you weren’t alone. A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifted off at 6:33 a.m. EDT on October 13 from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. As it climbed, it painted a glowing, jellyfish-shaped cloud across the dawn sky.

The SpaceX rocket launch was visible far beyond the Space Coast. Residents in Orlando and across Central Florida, the Tampa Bay area, Jacksonville and Northeast Florida, and as far away as Augusta, Georgia, posted photos of the spectacle. Sky-watchers along much of the East Coast reported catching a glimpse.

What was in the Florida sky this morning?

The glowing shape was a “space jellyfish,” a phenomenon that appears when a rocket launches shortly before sunrise or after sunset. NASA’s Kennedy Space Center explained that the effect happens when the rocket’s exhaust plume is brightly lit near dawn or dusk, producing a glowing form that resembles a jellyfish.

Timing makes the difference. High above the ground, sunlight catches the rocket’s exhaust, mostly water vapor and carbon dioxide, while the sky below remains dark. As those gases expand in the thin upper atmosphere, they spread into a bright dome with trailing “tentacles.”

Neither NASA nor SpaceX specifically forecast a space jellyfish for this launch. Whether one appears depends on the rocket’s trajectory, the sun's position, and the weather. Floridians last saw a notable display after a SpaceX launch on July 9, 2026.

What rocket launched? The SpaceX CRS-35 mission

The Falcon 9 rocket carried a SpaceX Cargo Dragon spacecraft on CRS-35, the company’s 35th mission under NASA’s Commercial Resupply Services program. Dragon is hauling more than 6,300 pounds of science experiments, supplies, and equipment to the ISS.

The headline cargo is the station’s final pair of Roll-Out Solar Arrays (iROSAs), stowed in Dragon’s unpressurized trunk to boost power on the aging orbiting laboratory. Other payloads include hardware for manufacturing artificial retinas in microgravity, aimed at restoring vision on Earth, and 3D heart tissue models to advance drug testing.

This was Cargo Dragon C211's fourth flight; it previously flew CRS-26, CRS-29, and CRS-33. The Falcon 9 first-stage booster was making its eighth flight, continuing SpaceX’s practice of reusing rockets.

Dragon separated from the rocket’s second stage about nine minutes after liftoff. It was scheduled to dock autonomously with the station’s Harmony module at about 11 a.m. EDT on Thursday, October 15. That port was recently vacated by the Crew Dragon Freedom, which returned NASA’s SpaceX Crew-12 astronauts to Earth.

Where did SpaceX launch from today?

SpaceX launched CRS-35 from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, one of its two East Coast Falcon 9 pads. The other is Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. Kennedy’s historic pads once hosted the Space Shuttle program, which retired in 2011. Today, Florida’s Space Coast is the world's busiest launch hub, with Falcon 9 rockets lifting off almost weekly.

What is SpaceX?

SpaceX is the private aerospace company that builds and flies the reusable Falcon 9 rocket and the Dragon spacecraft. Under contract with NASA, it flies both cargo and astronauts to the International Space Station. It also launches thousands of its own Starlink internet satellites, which make up the bulk of its frequent Florida launches.

Is there a rocket launch today? Checking the SpaceX launch schedule

Rocket launches from Florida happen so often that “is there a rocket launch today?” is a daily question on the Space Coast. Schedules shift constantly with weather and technical issues. The most reliable sources are:

• SpaceX launch schedule: spacex.com/launches, with SpaceX launch today live webcasts
• NASA launch schedule: nasa.gov, where NASA launch coverage streams live on NASA+
• Cape Canaveral launch schedule: local outlets such as Florida Today, WKMG and Spaceflight Now track every Cape Canaveral launch

Depending on cloud cover and trajectory, a rocket launch from Florida’s Space Coast can be seen from Jacksonville Beach to West Palm Beach. The best views of a Falcon 9 launch are along Brevard County's beaches.

FAQ: SpaceX launch and the space jellyfish

Was there a rocket launch this morning in Florida?
The jellyfish-shaped cloud seen across Florida and Georgia came from SpaceX’s Falcon 9 CRS-35 launch, which lifted off at 6:33 a.m. EDT on Tuesday, October 13, from Cape Canaveral.

Did SpaceX launch today?
SpaceX launches frequently from Florida and California. Check the SpaceX launch schedule at spacex.com/launches for the latest Falcon 9 launch times and live webcasts.

What causes a SpaceX jellyfish cloud?
Sunlight illuminates the rocket’s high-altitude exhaust plume while the ground is still in darkness, typically within about an hour of sunrise or sunset.

What is the SpaceX CRS-35 launch date?
CRS-35 launched October 13, 2026, with docking to the ISS scheduled for October 15.

What’s going to the International Space Station?
More than 6,300 pounds of cargo, including the ISS’s final Roll-Out Solar Arrays and biomedical research hardware.

Is there a space shuttle launch today?
No. NASA retired its Space Shuttle in 2011. Today, astronauts and cargo reach the ISS aboard spacecraft such as SpaceX’s Dragon, launched on Falcon 9 rockets.