Contrails, or rocket launch?

[Scarlett]

Weirdest contrails I’ve ever seen if they are.

Overhead Providenciales, Turks and Caicos. At 1800 local time and sunset was about 15-20 minutes ago. Heading south-east.

After I saw the first people taking photos I went out to take the second image and could hear broken ‘thunder’ like sounds.

 

[Scarlett]

This was taken about the same time as the second image.


Nothing on FR24 that would correlate.
They’ve now dissipated so I guess they were a military formation (to account for the multiple ‘footprints’) not displayed on FR24.

 

[offshore171]

Starship upper stage exploded on the way to orbit and re-entered over the carribean

https://twitter.com/x/status/1880026262254809115

Post automatically merged: Today at 10:08 AM

The booster landed OK

https://twitter.com/x/status/1880023896289866046

 

[markis10]

I thought it was Maverick doing another Darkstar test flight

 

[tgh]

Sad to lose the ship but a great catch of the booster.
They seem quite open about testing the boundaries ; SS7 had tiles left off and many other experimental ideas.

 

[VPS]

When I read this thread title I thought it said coughtails or rocket launch - you can tell where my head is

 

[Gold Member]

I saw a recent headline about Qantas having to delay their JNB service on one occasion due to incoming space debris over the Indian Ocean. Given the number of rockets fired off and some that re-enter n the Caribbean/Florida area, surely there are many more airlines impacted in that region that we just don’t hear about down here?

 

[tgh]

They publish exclusion zones and give plenty of notice but sometimes stuff happens...

 

[Quickstatus]

I saw a recent headline about Qantas having to delay their JNB service on one occasion due to incoming space debris over the Indian Ocean

Planned water landing point in the Southern Ocean.
Unfortunately have not found the NOTAM

 

[Scarlett]

I saw a recent headline about Qantas having to delay their JNB service on one occasion due to incoming space debris over the Indian Ocean. Given the number of rockets fired off and some that re-enter n the Caribbean/Florida area, surely there are many more airlines impacted in that region that we just don’t hear about down here?

Funny you say that.
I was looking at FR24 to try and work out what it might have been. No where near PLS, but I did click on this aircraft.



It’s a DL flight cutting high altitude laps over the northern coast of the Dominican Republic.

I just opened up FR24 and they’re still there!


That’s over an hour in that hold point.

I guess there is a notam about the debris.

 

[Scarlett]

In fact if you look all around this area there are flights diverting all over the place. Mass chaos. Not just RPT but bizjets diverting.

 

[Quickstatus]

The Starship disassembled 44 seconds after the Booster was successfully captured.
Estimating this places the point of disassembly east of the Yucatan peninsula

Point of booster capture:

 

[Quickstatus]

Turks and Caicos

Another view from Turks and Caicos:

 

[Scarlett]

Another view from the T&C:



Well, this was my view this afternoon at Royal Turks and Caicos Golf Club a hour and bit before SpaceX decided to litter the eastern Caribbean.

Must update that trip report…