What was that bright light zipping by in the Tuesday night sky?

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (WSFA) - If you saw a bright light zipping across the Tuesday evening sky you were not alone. Multiple states across the South had reports of what looked like a very bright meteor or shooting star around 10 p.m. CDT.

That bright object was actually a SpaceX Dragon capsule carrying private Ax-2 astronauts! The capsule was making its return to Earth after a 10-day stay in space, including eight days docked at the International Space Station (ISS).

The @SpaceX Dragon capsule carrying four astronauts zipping by in the Tuesday night sky in Central Alabama. 🚀🪂 #SpaceX pic.twitter.com/Q3h8BAGPe8
— Tyler Sebree ⚡️ (@TylerWSFA12) May 31, 2023

The capsule and its four astronauts officially splashed down at 10:04 p.m. CDT just off the coast of Panama City Beach. That’s why most of the reports from Alabama of a “meteor” came in around 10:00 p.m.

The splashdown went without a hitch. The capsule and astronauts safely returned with no problems, met by officials ready to retrieve them!

After 10 days in orbit, Dragon and the Ax-2 crew return to Earth pic.twitter.com/v7Pounh2tV
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) May 31, 2023

If you didn’t see this particular Dragon, there will be more to come over the next several months. That includes a robotic version of the capsule scheduled to launch to the ISS this Saturday on a cargo mission.

The next manned Dragon will launch to the ISS in August. That NASA mission is called SpaceX Crew-7 and will have four people aboard it.

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