A rocket in the sky
Video of a Chinese rocket from across the South China Sea…
Two nights ago, I joined a friend for dinner at Old Daddy Farm (老爸農場). The name’s a misnomer: it’s actually an outdoor café immediately adjacent to Kaohsiung International Airport. There’s no farm, and there are few—if any—old daddies.
But what Old Daddy Farm does offer is a great view across the runway, and towards the flight paths of approaching aircraft:
Anyway, at 7:35pm on Saturday night, my friend saw an unusual light in the sky. South-west of the airport, it appeared be moving at the speed of a regular aircraft. But it had a powerful light projecting outwards, seemingly perpendicular to the direction of travel.
After around 40 seconds, the light just faded away.
Here’s a grainy video from my phone (at 3× optical zoom):
We speculated wildly, but our theories all had holes.
We never considered it might’ve been a rocket.
But then, via Reddit, I visited SpaceLauchLive.com and learned it was actually a Chinese Smart Dragon 3 rocket, which had launched from a floating rocket pad in the South China Sea, just three minutes earlier:
I never thought I’d see a rocket. Let alone over sweet potato fries and a coffee shake at Old Daddy Farm. Beats plane spotting.