On the evening of March 24, 2025, people from all over the world witnessed an unusual sight: strange glowing spirals appeared in the night sky, causing a wave of discussions and speculation. Photos of this phenomenon, taken in Russia, Ukraine, Poland, Germany, Great Britain and other countries, quickly spread across social networks. Users shared shots showing bright swirling traces left in the atmosphere by an unknown object. Initially, the mysterious patterns gave rise to a variety of theories - from natural anomalies to alien intervention - but soon experts and the media offered a more prosaic explanation: the spirals were probably associated with the launch of the Falcon 9 rocket, which delivered the American spy satellite NROL-69 into orbit. 

The launch took place the day before from the Cape Canaveral spaceport in Florida, USA. The SpaceX rocket, which lifted off at 13:48 local time (17:48 GMT), successfully launched the classified cargo of the US National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) into orbit. After the separation of the first stage, which returned to Earth and landed on a pad near the launch site, the second stage continued its flight, throwing out the remains of the fuel in the upper layers of the atmosphere. It is this process, according to experts, that caused the appearance of spiral traces, visible over a huge area due to the reflection of sunlight in twilight conditions. The media, citing astronomers, note that such phenomena are not uncommon during rocket launches, although their visibility depends on weather conditions and time of day.

The spirals in the sky caused not only surprise, but also active discussion among eyewitnesses. Residents of Russian cities such as Moscow and St. Petersburg reported that the phenomenon was visible to the naked eye, and in Poland and Germany some even took it for an unusual atmospheric phenomenon. In Great Britain, amateur photographers managed to capture the spirals against the background of the starry sky, which only increased interest in the event.

As reported by Spaceflight Now, the NROL-69 launch was carried out under a SpaceX contract with the National Reconnaissance Office and the U.S. Space Force. It is the fifth NRO mission in 2025 out of about a dozen planned, and its cost, together with another operation (USSF-36), is estimated at $159,7 million under the 2021 contract. The satellite, whose characteristics remain classified, is intended for reconnaissance purposes, and its orbit, in keeping with agency tradition, is not disclosed. SpaceX confirmed the successful landing of the Falcon 9 first stage, which has become a routine procedure for the company, which seeks to reduce launch costs by reusing rockets. 

According to Space.com, published on March 24, the launch coincided with the 19th anniversary of SpaceX's first launch in 2006, adding symbolism to the occasion. Weather conditions, as noted by the 45th Weather Squadron, were 90% favorable, which provided clear visibility of both the launch itself and the subsequent atmospheric effects. Experts explain that the spirals are caused by the rotation of the rocket's second stage during fuel release, and their glow intensifies at dusk, when the sun's rays illuminate particles at an altitude of more than 100 kilometers. A similar phenomenon was observed, for example, in October 2024 after the launch of NROL-167 from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, which confirms the version about fuel traces.