Dragon capsule’s return lights up SLO County sky. Did you see or hear it?
Did you notice a bright streak in the sky or hear a faint sonic boom in San Luis Obispo County last night?
If so, what you witnessed was a four-person NASA space crew returning to Earth aboard the SpaceX Dragon Endeavor spacecraft.
According to a news release from NASA, Crew-11 splashed down safely off the coast of San Diego at around 12:41 a.m.
“Welcome home, Crew-11!” NASA wrote on X soon after the astronauts made contact with the Pacific Ocean. The agency also shared video of the splashdown.
The return marked the end of a more than five-month mission aboard the International Space Station, according to NASA.
The mission concluded about a month early due to a medical concern that cropped up for one of the crew members, the release said.
The spacecraft’s re-entry to orbit left a glowing streak across the SLO County skies, coupled with a faint sonic boom.
SpaceX shared images of the re-entry and a video of Crew-11 inside the spacecraft on X.
This story was originally published January 15, 2026 at 10:09 AM with the headline "Dragon capsule’s return lights up SLO County sky. Did you see or hear it?."
