--- title: "Watch a SpaceX Rocket Stage Burn Up Spectacularly in the Earth’s Atmosphere" description: "A SpaceX Falcon 9's second stage lit up the skies like a spectacular fireworks display around 4am local time over the Seattle area during reentry." date: "2021-03-26" modified: "2021-03-26" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/spacex-rocket-stage-burn-atmosphere" categories: - "Space" - "SpaceX" tags: - "falcon 9" - "SpaceX" - "the digest" --- # Watch a SpaceX Rocket Stage Burn Up Spectacularly in the Earth’s Atmosphere ![A SpaceX Falcon 9's second stage lit up the skies like a spectacular fireworks display around 4am local time over the Seattle area during reentry.]() *\Image: JC Crowl via Twitter\* ## Light Show On March 4, SpaceX launched its latest batch of broadband-beaming Starlink satellites into orbit using one of the company's workhorse Falcon 9 rockets. But the launch didn't go entirely as planned. The rocket's second stage failed to light its engines during deorbit and spent the last 23 days in space — until careening through the Earth's atmosphere last night in an epic light show. Its reentry lit up the skies like a spectacular fireworks display around 4am local time over the Seattle area. Videos of the uncontrolled reentry showed up on social media, with bewildered onlookers trying to make sense of what they've just seen. https://twitter.com/planet4589/status/1375301028514500615 Videos show the second stage breaking up into small pieces as it burns up. https://twitter.com/jc_xvx/status/1375305520928579586 ## Uncontrolled Tumble The rocket stage was mean to slowly make its way back down to Earth in a much more controlled manner. "Basically, if an object is in orbit around the Earth, it doesn’t need any propellant or anything to keep going around the Earth, it’ll just go around and around and around," Bill Burnyeat, community astronomer for Canadian Planetariums, [told local Vancouver news station *News 1130*](). But the deorbit burn never occurred. "It’s kind of like if you had a car that was moving in a parking lot but there was no one driving and the car was just driving around and around randomly, then eventually would hit something," Burnyeat added. The pressure the stage met when it hit the atmosphere was so intense that even the metal glowed as it burned up. "Most it will burn up in the Earth’s atmosphere so there’s no real danger of it falling on someone’s head," Burnyeat told *News 1130*. **READ MORE:** [SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket debris creates spectacular light show for Metro Vancouver]() \[*News 1130*\] **More on reentries:** *[Amazing Footage Shows Ancient NASA Satellite Burning Up During Reentry]()* ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()