☑️ Amazon's United Launch Alliance launched a rocket in Florida around 9 p.m.

☑️ A white light that appeared to have wings was visible over New Jersey

☑️ Space.com reports it was carrying two experimental navigation satellites


 

The strange light in the sky over New Jersey Tuesday night was likely from the launch of a Vulcan rocket in Florida.

Many people trying to view the Perseid meteor shower saw the white light that appeared to have wings gliding through the sky.  It probably came from the launch of USSF-106, a Vulcan Centaur rocket by the United Launch Alliance from Cape Canaveral just before 9 p.m. It is part of Project Kuiper, Amazon’s low Earth orbit satellite broadband network

NJ 101.5 listener Gene Hirschel shared pictures of the light visible over Shelter Cove in Toms River. It was also visible from Haddon Heights, according to pictures posted by 6 ABC Action News.

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Visibility map for launch of Vulcan rocket
Visibility map for launch of Vulcan rocket (ULA)
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 Marathon launch

The company described it as a "marathon launch" that took seven hours to complete over 22,000 miles. Space.com reports it was carrying two experimental navigation satellites on behalf of the U.S. military. It was the most powerful Vulcan rocket ever launched.

It was one of two rocket launches on Tuesday night. The Ariane 6 rocket also launched from Europe's Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana in South America about 10 minutes earlier, It put an advanced weather and climate satellite into orbit.

The Ariane rocket was likely not visible from as its trajectory into a sun-synchronous orbit did not pass near the United States.

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Light in the sky over Toms River 8/12/25
Light in the sky over Toms River 8/12/25 (Gene Hirschel)
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