Falcon 9 launch creates glowing "jellyfish" while carrying Dragon to ISS

A SpaceX Falcon 9 lifted off from Cape Canaveral at 6:33 a.m. EDT on October 13, 2026, sending a Dragon spacecraft to the ISS on the company's 35th commercial resupply mission for NASA. Sunlight lit up the expanding exhaust plume, producing a "jellyfish" visible across the eastern United States. Dragon carries the final iROSA solar arrays, equipment for artificial retinas and 3D heart tissue models.

• Launch occurred on October 13, 2026, at 6:33 a.m. EDT from SLC-40
• It was SpaceX's 35th commercial resupply mission for NASA
• Dragon delivers the final iROSA solar arrays for the ISS
• Cargo includes equipment for artificial retinas and 3D heart tissue