UF-whoa!: SpaceX Starlink satellites fly over Waelder, causing bewilderment

Gonzales County Sheriff’s dispatchers received several calls from bewildered residents regarding strange lights in the sky above Waelder Wednesday, Aug. 2.

The lights in the sky were flying in a straight line sometime after 9 p.m., prompting some to think it may have been a UFO. However, according to Gonzales County chief dispatcher Meggan Thomas, the department was told that it was SpaceX’s Starlink satellites. And there is proof online to back that up.

According to the website www.findstarlink.com, users can determine when Starlink will be visible to the naked eye by inputting their city name or, for rural users, their latitudinal and longitudinal coordinates.

The latitude and longitude for Waelder is 29.6952° N, 97.2986° W. When that is put into the website, it shows that the new Starlink-95 (G6-7) chain of satellites was expected to be dimly visible for a five-minute window around 9:21 p.m. Aug. 2 from northwest to southeast in the sky from a starting elevation of 11° up to a maximum of 81° and ending at 33°.

What is Starlink? According to its website, “Starlink is the world's first and largest satellite constellation using a low Earth orbit to deliver broadband internet capable of supporting streaming, online gaming, video calls and more. Leveraging advanced satellites and user hardware coupled with our deep experience with both spacecraft and on-orbit operations, Starlink delivers high-speed, low-latency internet to users all over the world.”

The plan calls for there to eventually be as many as 12,000 small satellites in orbit at varying altitudes and to achieve this, SpaceX — which is owned by Texas-based billionaire Elon Musk — launches satellites into space aboard the Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral, Florida. The most recent launch carrying a payload of 22 satellites was just after midnight EDT Friday, July 28.

SpaceX has launched 4,859 Starlink satellites to date, and the number of Starlink satellites currently in orbit is 4,519. While orbiting, the constellation can appear as a moving train of lights in the sky which can startle those not familiar with its appearance.

There have been 10 Starlink launches since June 4 to add satellites to the constellation. Similar sightings to those in Waelder were reported in North Texas on Wednesday, July 12, according to Fox 4 KDFW.

SpaceX Starlink missions can be seen online at www.spacex.com/launches.