SpaceX launch lights up San Diego sky with stunning sunset

SAN DIEGO (FOX 5/KUSI) -- San Diegans got excited as the latest SpaceX rocket launch Wednesday night took place at twilight and was visible across the county with a stunning sunset in the background.

SpaceX frequently launches rockets from the Vandenberg Space Force Base in Southern California, and those in nearby counties can see the launch when conditions are right.

SpaceX launched 24 Starlink satellites into low-Earth orbit at 7:42 p.m. Wednesday from Space Launch Complex 4 East (SLC-4E) at Vandenberg Space Force Base in Santa Barbara County, Calif.

Residents in Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo and Ventura counties may have heard a sonic boom during the launch that was seen heading south over the Pacific Ocean past San Diego County.

Rockets launched from the Vandenberg Space Force Base in Southern California traveled directly south over the open ocean all the way to the Antarctic. The rocket has reached orbit by now, the company said.

SpaceX confirmed the first stage separated from the rocket and landed on the "Of Course I Still Love You" droneship in the Pacific Ocean.

The two dozen Starlink 17-36 mission satellites were confirmed deployed at 8:41 p.m., according to SpaceX.

This marked the 13th flight and 11th Starlink mission for the first stage booster.

Watch the live replay of the full mission on SpaceX.com here.

SpaceX also launched from Florida on Wednesday.

A Falcon Heavy launched the ViaSat-3 F3 mission to geosynchronous transfer orbit from Launch Complex 39A (LC-39A) at Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 10:13 a.m. Wednesday. The company confirmed Falcon Heavy's two side boosters landed on SpaceX's Landing Zones 2 and 40 (LZ-2 and LZ-40) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida after stage separation.

View upcoming launches at spacex.com/launches.