27-05-2025
A streak of light soared across the SLO County sky. What was it?
A 'dragon' lit up the night sky on the Central Coast on Saturday, but this one didn't breathe fire — it was the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft returning to Earth.
The spacecraft soared over San Luis Obispo County at about 10:30 p.m. on Saturday, returning from the International Space Station with about 6,700 pounds of supplies, according to NASA.
Paso Robles resident Lori Penner said the spacecraft arched over her house 'like a rainbow,' and the display was followed by two sonic booms.
'It was by far the coolest thing,' she told The Tribune.
The SpaceX Dragon left the International Space Station on Friday, and it splashed into the ocean off the coast of California at 10:44 p.m. on Saturday, NASA said.
The supplies carried by the craft included 'radiation shielding and detection materials, solar sails and reflective coatings, ceramic composites for reentry spacecraft studies and resins for potential use in heat shields,' NASA said in a news release.
That equipment was exposed to space to 'improve knowledge of how these materials respond to ultraviolet radiation, atomic oxygen, charged particles, thermal cycling and other factors,' the release said.
The trip was SpaceX's 32nd commercial resupply services mission at the International Space Station for NASA.
Here's a look at videos of the capsule making its re-entry.
