‘UFO’ spotted over Texas was likely SpaceX Starlink rocket

According to social posts from Texans, the strange lights were seen Sunday evening in Nacogdoches, Tyler, and Longview in Northeast Texas. Hunt County Theft Reports suspected it was a «UFO» in its Facebook post. 

«Anyone know what this was that I saw tonight near Mineola, Texas,» James Breeden posted on X, formally known as Twitter.

What were the strange lights in Texas?

While many speculated UFOs, that wasn’t it. According to the Longview News-Journal, it was likely a SpaceX rocket. On Sunday, SpaceX launched 23 more of its Starlink internet satellites to orbit, the publication reported.

A Falcon 9 rocket carrying the Starlink spacecraft lifted off from Florida’s Cape Canaveral Space Force Station at 5:35 p.m. The Starlink satellites are meant to help bring high-speed broadband internet to locations across the globe where internet may not be readily available, according to Starlink.

This was the third orbital launch of 2024 for SpaceX, according to space.com. SpaceX representatives have said the company aims to launch 144 missions this year, which would beat its record of 98, set in 2023, according to space.com.

SpaceX, founded by Elon Musk, designs, manufactures, and launches advanced rockets and spacecraft.