ScienceAt 6:35 p.m. on March 4, SpaceX successfully launched its Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral, Florida, sending a satellite called SES-9 into orbit far above the Earth.
It all happened fast; the rocket travels at thousands of miles per hour.
But if you were lucky enough to be on a nearby plane at just the right moment, you would have been treated to something that seems like a view from the future: a rocket streaming by in a bright flash of light as it began its 25,000 mile journey toward the stars.
Will Carr got that very view from his plane on Friday, and gave Tech Insider permission to share his photos here. (We first spotted them on Reddit.)
"The pilot made an announcement over the speakers saying that we were gonna slow down so that we could see it up close," he wrote on Reddit. "[P]retty much everyone was glued to the windows. After he said we had to speed up again everyone was clapping. It was amazing."
You can see the rocket begin as a small glowing orb near the ground and then quickly soar upwards beyond the clouds.
Check out Carr's photos below: