dChan - Q Origins Project Archive

Anonymous ID: 1bce4d Sept. 28, 2026, 11:05 a.m. No.25085232 🗄️.is 🔗kun

>>25085218

TYB

NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman

@NASAAdmin

Home teams are 2-for-2 when @NASA performs the flyover, which is technically a streak.

Quote

NASA Spox

@NASASpox

@NASAAdmin in the skies over Cleveland for today’s NASA flyover!

4:24 PM · Sep 27, 2026

https://x.com/NASAAdmin/status/2104351440743309451

moar

https://x.com/NASAAdmin/status/2104632666314449362

https://x.com/Astro_Jessica/status/2104209442371735994

https://x.com/NASAAdmin/status/2104582588899680689

Stunning Harvest Moon serves up a treat for skywatchers worldwide (photos)

September 28, 2026

The Harvest Moon is the full moon that falls closest to the autumn equinox.

September's full moon, also known this year as the Harvest Moon, rose on Sept. 26, thrilling skywatchers worldwide.

A full moon occurs whenever the moon is on the opposite side of Earth from the sun. The next full moon will be on Oct. 26 at 12:12 a.m. EDT (0412 GMT), it will be known as the Hunter's Moon.

From dramatic Hong Kong city skylines to Italian castles, we take a look at some of the best September full moon photographs captured around the world.

cont.

https://www.space.com/stargazing/stunning-harvest-moon-serves-up-a-treat-for-skywatchers-worldwide-photos

Anonymous ID: 1bce4d Sept. 28, 2026, 11:35 a.m. No.25085313 🗄️.is 🔗kun >>5327

>>25085191 LB

Massive SpaceX rocket explodes in a fireball as it hits ocean following test flight

09:27 EDT, 28 September 2026 | Updated: 12:46 EDT, 28 September 2026

SpaceX’s Starship exploded as it hit the ocean after reaching orbit for the first time.

The uncrewed Starship launched around 8.46am ET from SpaceX's Starbase complex along the Gulf of Mexico near Brownsville, and was scheduled for a 10-hour mission around the Earth.

However, SpaceX cut Starship’s flight short after an engine unexpectedly shut down during its climb to orbit.

Footage showed the 40-story Starship flip into position for a gentle splashdown at 11.58am ET, only to erupt in a huge fireball seconds after hitting the water.

SpaceX spokesperson Dan Huot said during the livestream: 'Starship has landed.

'As you saw, not quite a soft splashdown as we had on the last one, but it's Starship in the water nonetheless.'

While the SpaceX team did not confirm Starship had exploded, onshore cameras captured the booster exploding near the middle.

Some have deemed the mission a 'complete failure,' but the goal was to send the massive rocket to orbit, and that is exactly what occurred on Monday.

At two minutes and 34 seconds into the flight, Starship executed a successful hot stage to separate from the Super Heavy Booster 21, which completed a landing burn above its target splashdown in the Gulf.

Shortly after, the SpaceX team announced that one of the three Raptor engines on the rocket shut down, nearly scrubbing the orbital mission.

About 20 minutes later, mission control gave the go-ahead to attempt orbit, drawing cheers across Starbase, and about five minutes later, Starship reached the target.

NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman congratulated SpaceX on the successful launch, saying on X: 'Gorgeous launch, getting Ship to orbit and managing every step in a safe, responsible, and especially inspirational way.

'NASA, along with the rest of the interested public, is excited to help where we can and for Starship missions to become routine!'

About eight and a half minutes after the burn, a dispenser in the rocket's nose began releasing 26 third-generation Starlink satellites, each with 10 times the capacity of its predecessor.

As of 9.54am, Starship had deployed its payload of Starlinks, and about one hour later, SpaceX announced the craft's early return.

'Flight teams will deorbit Starship safely to our pre-cleared area of the Pacific Ocean after 3 hours in orbit,' the Elon Musk-owned company said on X.

Starship appeared to splash down as planned, but seconds later, a massive fireball erupted, sending pieces of the spacecraft flying.

https://www.dailymail.com/sciencetech/article-16166129/spacex-starship-flight-texas-orbit.html

https://www.spacex.com/

https://x.com/SpaceX/status/2104601695711904180

https://x.com/elonmusk/status/2104572572067099102

https://x.com/elonmusk/status/2104572192247984493

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s2U54BS25bE (highlights)

Successful Earth flyby improves Juice’s course to Jupiter

28/09/2026

The European Space Agency’s Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (Juice) skimmed the very outer edge of Earth’s atmosphere on 28 September, using the gravity of our home planet to alter its route to Jupiter using very little fuel.

The flyby deflected Juice by an angle of 20° compared to its pre-flyby path and increased its velocity by 3.5 km/s.

In the four weeks before the flyby, spacecraft operators only had to give Juice one tiny nudge (out of six opportunities set aside) to put it on exactly the right approach trajectory to make the most of Earth’s gravity.

They have been tracking the spacecraft extra carefully since 17 August, and will continue to do so until 10 October.

Juice’s closest approach was at 13:45 CEST (11:45 UTC) on 28 September. As Juice flew just 8640 km above the Indian Ocean, it snapped a series of images with its onboard monitoring cameras.

“The flyby required ultra-precise navigation in real time. Thanks to our very careful planning, we used only a small amount of the propellant reserved for this flyby,” says Angela Dietz, Juice’s Spacecraft Operations Manager.

“This gives us more to use at Jupiter to carry out observations of the planet’s icy moons.”

Earth as a testbench

While the main goal was to alter Juice’s trajectory, the flyby also provided a third opportunity to test out Juice’s science instruments on a real surface in space – with the first being during the spacecraft’s 2024 lunar-Earth gravity assist, and the second during the 2025 observations of Comet 3I/ATLAS.

Colleagues from ESA's spacecraft operations, science operations and technical centres spent months working hard with the external teams working on Juice's 10 science instruments to plan which instruments to switch on and when.

Thanks to their efforts, the team has been able to squeeze out as much operational time as possible considering tight spacecraft resources.

“Juice's journey to Jupiter provides only a few opportunities to calibrate and validate the instruments under well-understood environmental conditions,” explains Juice project scientist Claire Vallat, who led the effort.

“Given the limited time available and operational constraints, instrument activities sometimes have to be prioritised, for example when Juice was in Earth's shadow this morning, and relying on battery power alone.

During this flyby, calibration activities were prioritised based on their relevance to preparing the instruments for their work at Jupiter, while also considering whether an opportunity is unique or can be scheduled later in the journey.”

It’s been a lot of work, but an Earth flyby is actually relatively straightforward compared to Juice’s upcoming 35 flybys of Jupiter’s giant moons Ganymede, Europa and Ganymede.

For the Europa flybys, for example, discussions on instrument operations started 10 years ago and will continue until Juice flies past Europa in the early 2030s.

The Earth flyby is a great opportunity to calibrate instruments, figure out how best to work with them in space (where they always work a little differently to on Earth!), and develop data analysis tools.

But the icy moon flybys will be the real deal, and Juice needs to be ready to collect the best possible scientific data.

During the Earth flyby, Juice spent several days flying through the magnetotail – the part of Earth’s magnetic field that stretches out away from the Sun.

This has provided an excellent opportunity to measure magnetic fields and charged particles far from our planet. Meanwhile, the European-Chinese Smile mission has been watching the northern lights and measuring magnetic fields and particles close to Earth.

Together, Juice and Smile's observations provide a unique opportunity to connect activity in the distant magnetotail with what is happening at Earth's poles.

We expect to publish images and spectra collected by some of Juice’s instruments in the coming weeks, after they have arrived on Earth and been evaluated by the teams of scientists working on the instruments.

This includes high-resolution images of the Moon and Earth from Juice’s scientific camera, JANUS.

Next stop: one last hello to Earth

In January 2029, Juice will meet Earth one last time, coming back for a third flyby of our home planet to put it onto the final track to meet Jupiter in 2031.

https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Space_Science/Juice/Successful_Earth_flyby_improves_Juice_s_course_to_Jupiter

moar ESA and across the pond

https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Human_and_Robotic_Exploration/epsilon/Myotones_measuring_muscle_health_in_space

https://www.esa.int/Space_in_Member_States/France/ESA_Astrolabe_temporarily_closes_ahead_of_a_new_immersive_exhibition

https://x.com/Soph_astro/status/2104607963948155316

https://www.satellitetoday.com/people/2026/09/28/space-norway-appoints-new-chair/

Bridge section collapses in Russia after Ukrainian strike

28 Sep, 2026 08:29 | Updated 28 Sep, 2026 12:27

Over a dozen train cars derailed after a series of drone strikes on railways in Bryansk Region, according to the local governor

Ukrainian drone strikes have damaged a railway bridge and tracks at three locations in Russia’s Bryansk Region, causing several trains to derail, acting Governor Egor Kovalchuk said on Monday. No injuries have been reported, he added.

Part of a bridge collapsed on the Dyatkovo–Lyudinovo rail section, sending ten cars off the tracks. A separate strike in Unecha District derailed another 18 empty freight cars, according to Kovalchuk.

Repair work at the Unecha site will begin after Russian National Guard personnel inspect the area.

A third attack also damaged tracks in Navlya District, but did not disrupt train traffic or cause injuries, the governor said.

Russian railway authorities have since confirmed that train service in the region has been temporarily disrupted and announced that buses have been organized to compensate while repairs at the damaged site have already begun.

Kiev has increasingly targeted Russian railways in recent months. In June, a drone struck the locomotive of a Moscow–Simferopol passenger train, killing the assistant driver and injuring the driver.

That same month, another drone struck the cabin of a commuter train at Peschaniki station in Bryansk Region, injuring the assistant driver.

Another strike damaged a train cab in the town of Suzemka in March, though no one was injured and service ultimately continued.

Just last week, a Ukrainian drone also attacked a passenger train in Samara Region, more than 500 km from the Russia-Ukraine border. Governor Vyacheslav Fedorishchev said on Friday that the strike damaged the electric locomotive and the first car of the train, but that it did not derail and there were no injuries reported among the passengers.

Moscow has long accused Kiev of resorting to terrorist tactics and deliberately targeting civilians and non-combatants in an attempt to spread fear among the Russian population and out of desperation over suffering repeated battlefield setbacks.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said earlier this month that Kiev’s foreign backers have created a “monster” that could eventually go rogue and endanger the lives of Western civilians while conducting terrorist attacks.

Russia has responded by intensifying its own strikes on Ukrainian military infrastructure and defense facilities, as well as severely disrupting Ukrainian shipping through the Black Sea and fuel supplies in other parts of the country that Moscow considers important to Kiev’s military logistics.

https://www.rt.com/russia/646350-bridge-bryansk-ukraine-drone/

moar RT

https://www.rt.com/russia/646349-nuclear-terrorism-ukraine-miroshnik/

https://www.rt.com/news/646363-eu-intensifies-military-buildup/

https://www.rt.com/news/646339-zelensky-korea-soldiers-apology/

https://www.rt.com/russia/646360-ukraine-admits-failure-plug-defense-hole/

Anonymous ID: 1bce4d Sept. 28, 2026, 12:24 p.m. No.25085460 🗄️.is 🔗kun >>5462

https://www.kyivpost.com/post/85563

https://euromaidanpress.com/2026/09/28/after-russia-hits-kyivs-academy-of-sciences-with-jet-powered-drone-the-kremlin-says-ukraine-must-pay-a-price/

other Russia and Ukraine

https://www.engine.online/news/another-russian-refinery-taken-offline-amid-kyivs-drone-barrage-81f0

https://www.democrata.es/en/international/poland-deploys-fighters-after-the-impact-of-a-russian-drone-two-kilometers-from-its-border/

https://mezha.net/eng/news/b205bc4c_russian_fpv_drone/

https://www.pravda.com.ua/eng/news/2026/09/28/8055350/

https://www.kyivpost.com/interviews/85144

Russian Drone Targets Academy of Sciences in Central Kyiv, Leaving Woman Dead

Sept. 28, 2026, 2:15 pm | Updated: 6m ago

In brief: A Russian drone attacked the National Academy of Sciences building in central Kyiv, sparking a fire and killing people, Ukrainian officials said. Rescuers searched the building as Zelensky condemned the attack and vowed Russia would face consequences.

A Russian drone targeted the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine in central Kyiv on Monday, Sept. 28, sparking a fire and killing people, Ukrainian officials said.

Initially, Kyiv Mayor Vitaliy Klitschko reported that Russian forces hit a nonresidential building in the Shevchenkivskyi district, sparking a fire.

“An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) has crashed into a non-residential building in the Shevchenkivskyi district, in the capital’s city center. A fire has broken out,” Klitschko said in a Telegram post.

The Ukrainian monitoring channel Exilenova+ reported that the building attacked was the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine.

Local Telegram channels reported seeing a large column of black smoke rising over the city.

Some channels also claimed that people remained inside the burning building and that people were attempting to escape through windows. These reports have not yet been independently verified.

Oleksandr Sazanovych, head of the Shevchenkivskyi District State Administration, said on Telegram that he was at the scene of the day-time assault.

“Unfortunately, there are injuries and fatalities. All emergency and relevant services are working at the site. I ask residents not to approach the scene and not to interfere with the work of the services,” he wrote, adding that the information was being verified.

Sazanovych did not specify the exact location of the impact, but he published several photos clearly showing that the building is part of the National Academy of Sciences.

Moreover, Ukrainian outlet Ukrinform has published footage showing rescuers assisting victims at the site of a Russian drone strike.

Later, President Volodymyr Zelensky responded to the Russian strike, confirming that the damaged building belongs to the Ukrainian National Academy of Sciences.

“A rescue operation is currently underway; the fire is being extinguished, and a search is being conducted for people who might have been inside the building. All services have been deployed,” he wrote.

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>>25085460

Zelensky added that a pharmaceutical company and gas stations were attacked in Kyiv on Monday, along with a business center in Dnipro and civilian facilities, enterprises and communications infrastructure in other cities and regions.

“Unfortunately, there are fatalities… My condolences to their families and loved ones. There will certainly be a response to Russia for this,” he wrote.

“And every one of Ukraine’s partners must see – from this terror and these strikes – that support for Ukraine is truly support for human life, and support for the principle that terror must never and nowhere be normalized,” Zelensky added.

He stressed that Russia must be held accountable for the attacks and face real consequences.

According to Klitschko’s latest report, one fatality has been confirmed so far as a result of the attack.

“One woman died in a non-residential building in Kyiv’s historic center after it was struck by an enemy UAV. Three people were injured and hospitalized by medics,” he wrote.

Klitschko later clarified that the number of injured had risen to four, with three people hospitalized. A search-and-rescue operation is currently underway.

“In total, 14 people have been injured in enemy attacks since the start of the day on Sept. 28. Six of them are currently in city hospitals. One woman has died,” Klitschko wrote.

Additionally, shortly before the air raid alert was lifted, another explosion was heard by Kyiv Post correspondents in various parts of the city.

Kyiv Mayor subsequently reported another attack in the Shevchenkivskyi district. This time, a seven-story administrative building was hit on the fourth floor.

“Emergency services are en route to the scene,” he added.

Meanwhile, local Telegram channels reported that the Akademiya Dobrobut medical center in Kyiv was hit. The Constitutional Court of Ukraine building is located directly opposite the medical facility.

A Kyiv Post correspondent is currently at the scene and confirms that the medical center was targeted.

Earlier, reports emerged of an attack near the well-known “Namelaka” pastry shop, which is located nearby.

Zelensky later added that emergency services are continuing to work at the site where the Academy of Sciences building was directly hit.

“Unfortunately, as of now, one fatality and six injuries – including three children – have been reported,” he said.

Zelensky confirmed that Russian forces also hit a medical facility in the capital’s city center, where rescuers are working to quickly extinguish a fire.

“Every Russian terrorist attack results in casualties that could have been prevented had the pressure on Russia finally become total – targeting everything that funds and produces Russia’s weapons of terror, as well as everyone who employs them,” he wrote.

According to Zelensky, the world must understand “that terrorists will go further if they are not stopped in Ukraine.”

“We cannot turn a blind eye to such brutal strikes. We must respond with global resolve and strength. We are counting on the strength of Europe, America, and our other partners who can help protect lives,” he added.

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Anonymous ID: 1bce4d Sept. 28, 2026, 12:42 p.m. No.25085517 🗄️.is 🔗kun >>5518

https://www.jpost.com/middle-east/iran-news/2026-09-28/live-updates-909915

other Israel

https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/lebanese-pm-after-meeting-rubio-we-talked-about-restoring-lebanese-sovereignty-timeline-for-idf-withdrawal/

https://www.i24news.tv/en/news/israel/defense/artc-idf-preparing-for-hamas-kidnapping-attack-yellow-line-outposts

https://vinnews.com/2026/09/28/idf-says-it-destroyed-more-than-600-hezbollah-sites-in-southern-lebanon-town/

https://news.antiwar.com/2026/09/28/idf-declares-mostly-destroyed-lebanese-town-of-mansouri-finished-after-huge-explosion/

https://vinnews.com/2026/09/28/idf-eliminates-hamas-financier-who-transferred-tens-of-millions-of-shekels/

https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/idf-says-it-thwarted-attempt-to-smuggle-weapons-from-jordan-into-israel-via-drone/

https://www.jfeed.com/news-israel/tm2p1d

https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/idf-says-interceptor-missile-launched-at-suspicious-aerial-target-over-troops-in-southern-lebanon/

Live Updates: Israel, Netherlands trade tit-for-tat diplomatic measures over Dutch West Bank sanctions

September 28, 10:29 PM

Jewish TV star Adam Brody calls Israeli actions in Gaza ‘genocide’ • Trump willing to bend on Iran sanctions if progress made on nuclear issues, official tells ‘Post'

September 28, 9:08 PM

Trump administration considers waiver to allow Iraqi flights for pilgrimage in Iran - report

A source says that the waiver would allow Iraqi Airways to fly to and from the Shi'ite holy city of Najaf for one month, with a more permanent waiver potentially coming into place.

US President Donald Trump's administration is considering a limited waiver to its Iran sanctions program to allow for flights carrying Shi'ite Muslim religious pilgrims between Iran and Iraq, a person with direct knowledge of the matter said.

The source, who is involved in the deliberations, said the US Treasury Department waiver would allow Iraqi Airways to fly to and from the Shi'ite holy city of Najaf for one month, with a more permanent waiver then potentially coming into place.

September 28, 9:08 PM

Jewish TV star Adam Brody calls Israeli actions in Gaza ‘genocide’

The Jewish actor and star of 'Nobody Wants This' told GQ that he believes Israel's actions in Gaza are 'genocide,' and also says he's observed growing conservative beliefs in Hollywood circles.

Adam Brody, who stars as a rabbi in the Netflix rom-com series Nobody Wants This, for the first time publicly shared his view that Israel has committed genocide in Gaza.

“Put me down as thinking it’s a genocide. Put me down as wanting a free Palestine,” Brody said in a new interview with GQ. “It’s awful that it’s taken so much death and misery, but it does feel like it’s reaching a breaking point that it should have a while ago.”

September 28, 9:08 PM

Trump willing to bend on Iran sanctions if progress made on nuclear issues, official tells ‘Post'

US President Donald Trump is willing to offer Iran sanctions relief and the release of frozen funds in exchange for concrete progress on nuclear issues, a US official told The Jerusalem Post on Monday.

The official added that indirect negotiations between US and Iranian officials have remained positive and constructive, but no deal will be made unless they address nuclear issues.

Iran has said it is flexible on nuclear questions, but representatives from Washington and Tehran have not agreed on which steps to take first or the order in which commitments in a potential deal would be implemented, the official continued.

September 28, 9:08 PM

Netherlands summons Israeli ambassador over ousting of Dutch Ramallah diplomats

The Dutch government on Monday said it had summoned Israel's ambassador in the Netherlands to protest against Israel's decision to revoke the diplomatic status of Dutch diplomats at the Ramallah-based Palestinian Authority.

Israel on Sunday said it made the move in response to Dutch sanctions targeting Israeli settlements in the West Bank.

The Netherlands had earlier said it regretted Israel's move, which it called "unnecessary."

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>>25085517

September 28, 6:47 PM

Dutch ban on West Bank, Golan imports 'outrageous, offensive,' Foreign Min. official tells 'Post'

Foreign Ministry Political Director Gilad Cohen said the Dutch import ban harms all Israelis and warned Jerusalem would respond to unilateral measures.

The Dutch measure banning the entry of products from the West Bank into the Netherlands is “outrageous and offensive,” the Foreign Ministry's Political Director, Gilad Cohen, told The Jerusalem Post on Monday.

Cohen argued that, in practice, it is leading to Israelis being singled out and treated differently from other travelers.

“This is a very offensive law,” Cohen said. “It allows Dutch customs officials to open the luggage of visitors from Israel and check whether they have brought products from Judea and Samaria, east Jerusalem or the Golan Heights.”

The law, which has now entered into force, prohibits the import of products from the West Bank, east Jerusalem or the Golan Heights into the Netherlands. Anyone caught importing such products could face up to six years in prison.

September 28, 6:47 PM

Likud election candidate Bonzel says he wishes former hostage were 'returned to Hamas,' apologizes

Itzik Bonzel, a bereaved father placed 29th on the Likud slate by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, later apologized, saying he wrote the comment in a “storm of emotions” and “did not mean” it.

Likud candidate in the upcoming Knesset election and bereaved father Itzik Bonzel wrote in a Monday morning Facebook post that he wished "there were a way to turn back the clock and return" 88-year-old former hostage Yocheved Lifshitz "to Hamas."

Bonzel later apologized in a subsequent Facebook post.

"As a bereaved father, who lost his son in the war to return hostages, it pained me to see the harsh things that humiliated our soldiers, but in a storm of emotions, I wrote a sentence about Yocheved Lifshitz in the context of Hamas, which I did not mean, and I apologize," he wrote.

Bonzel, who was placed 29th on the Likud list for the Knesset by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and lost his son Amit early in the war in Gaza, made the remarks in response to Lifshitz's televised interview on Channel 13, in which she criticized the Netanyahu government.

Yocheved, whose husband was killed in captivity after being taken hostage alongside her from Kibbutz Nir Oz on October 7, said in the interview: "Bibi [Netanyahu] didn't bring back a single hostage; Miriam Adelson bought us from Trump. If this government remains after the elections, it will be a disaster for the country."

September 28, 3:39 PM

US, Iran expected to hold separate talks with mediators on Monday, Tuesday, official says

Mediators are expected to hold separate talks with the United States and Iran on Monday or Tuesday, with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and Qatari mediators in the US, an official briefed on the negotiations told Reuters.

The talks are expected to focus on an amended version of a seven-day proposal Iran presented on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly, the official said.

September 28, 2:37 PM

Yemen's Houthis threaten to strike Saudi bridges in retaliation for airstrikes - report

Yemen's Houthis could begin targeting bridges in Saudi Arabia as a form of retaliation against airstrikes that the terror group claims were made by the Saudi military, a Sana'a military source told Lebanese outlet Al-Akhbar on Monday.

According to the source, Saudi Arabian airstrikes have targeted Yemeni bridges and other civilian infrastructure while claiming they were missile launch platforms.

"Civilian bridges are not used for military purposes," the source said, calling the Saudi practice "utter bankruptcy."

September 28, 2:37 PM

IDF reinforces West Bank amid growing tensions as settlers, Palestinians clash in villages

One military official said that "all it would take is a friction incident between Palestinians and Israelis that spirals out of control, is caught on video, and ignites the area."

The IDF reinforced its West Bank division to a total of approximately 25 battalions amid growing tensions, violent confrontations between Israelis and Palestinians, and security establishment concerns over a wave of lone-wolf terrorism and organized terrorist infrastructure, as tens of thousands of Israeli hikers arrived in the area on Sunday.

In addition, a divisional headquarters responsible for the Judea and Etzion regional brigades was deployed to the area.

"IDF troops, Border Police, and Israel Police reinforced roads, hiking areas, known friction points, and communities," a military source in Central Command said.

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Anonymous ID: 1bce4d Sept. 28, 2026, 1:04 p.m. No.25085572 🗄️.is 🔗kun >>5763 >>5797

>>25085327

right here, with the mothership

Mysterious 'UFO' spotted on SpaceX livestream sparks wild alien theories: 'Looks like a mothership'

15:15 EDT, 28 September 2026 | Updated: 15:40 EDT, 28 September 2026

SpaceX reached a historic milestone on Monday after sending the world's most powerful rocket into orbit.

But before Starship got there, viewers watching SpaceX’s livestream spotted something bizarre trailing behind the spacecraft in the darkness of space.

About seven minutes and 55 seconds into the test flight, social media users zeroed in on a narrow, slightly curved streak of pale blue light with a brighter white tip.

Many X users shared screenshots of the mysterious object, with one user saying it 'looks like a mothership' and 'bigger than a city.'

'I think we all just saw a UFO live-streamed,' one user shared. Another X user replied: 'I couldn't believe my eyes. I'm glad it wasn't just me that saw it.'

Others wondered whether the object was NASA's International Space Station, although the footage offers no way to judge its size or distance.

While many users were baffled, Dean Scott chimed in, suggesting the streak was gas left behind by the Super Heavy booster as its engines shut down after separation and fired again for the return burn.

In his view, it appeared to rise because Earth’s bright horizon had initially hidden it.

One user replied to Scott: ‘I went back and saw the cloud before it “flattened.” You're absolutely right, thank you!’

The user appeared to be referring to an earlier frame, captured six minutes and 35 seconds after launch, that shows a small, fuzzy blue-white patch near Earth’s edge.

But Scott’s explanation did little to quiet the alien theories.

‘The Greys are making sure all is ok,’ one X user commented, referring to the gray humanoid beings common in UFO lore.

Others tagged Elon Musk, with one asking: ‘Hey Elon, is this Mothership?’ Several users declared it was ‘definitely aliens.’

Engineer Kyle Holl connected the sighting to another scare during the flight: the unexpected shutdown of one of Starship’s engines.

‘Hmm, an engine out and then an alien battle cruiser uncloaks. Interesting,’ Holl posted.

Neither SpaceX or Musk have commented online about the mysterious object seen in the livestream.