SpaceX’s Dragon capsule looks like a shooting star as it causes sonic boom as it returned to Earth

A bright light streaked across the night sky over parts of Georgia and Florida last night, which was followed by a sonic boom that rattled homes in the area.

Many residents thought it was a shooting star or meteor falling to Earth, but the glowing object was SpaceX‘s Dragon capsule on its return mission following a month stay on the International Space Station (ISS).

The Cargo Dragon C208-2 undocked from the ISS at 9:12am Thursday, following a supply run to the ship, and splashed down in the Atlantic Ocean around 11pm ET.

This is the Elon Musk-owned company’s 23 cargo resupply mission to the ISS, but this time it returned with a payload of science experiments weighing in total of 4,600 pounds.

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A bright light streaked across the night sky over parts of Georgia and Florida last night, which was followed by a sonic boom that rattled homes in the area

SpaceX tweeted that the capsule may be visible in parts of Georgia and Florida – and the firm was correct.

Many residents shared the event on Twitter, showing images of the glowing craft with a long, illuminated tail as it soared over highways and neighborhoods.

Local news stations in Florida received numerous reports of a loud boom on Thursday night, which was heard by residents in the Jacksonville area and all the way down to St. Augustine.

Residents said the loud boom rattled dishes and windows, along with entire homes.

Many residents thought it was a shooting star or meteor falling to Earth, but the glowing object was SpaceX's Dragon capsule on its return mission following a month stay on the International Space Station

Many residents thought it was a shooting star or meteor falling to Earth, but the glowing object was SpaceX’s Dragon capsule on its return mission following a month stay on the International Space Station

SpaceX tweeted that the capsule may be visible in parts of Georgia and Florida – and the firm was correct

SpaceX tweeted that the capsule may be visible in parts of Georgia and Florida – and the firm was correct

The loud noise was a sonic boom released from the capsule, Newsweek reports.

According to NASA, a sonic boom is the thunder-like noise that someone on the ground hears when an aircraft or spacecraft overhead flies faster than the speed of sound.

CRS-23 (Commercial Resupply Services 23) was conducted using Cargo Dragon C208-23 and launched to the ISS on August 29.

The mission delivered crew supplies, scientific investigations, spacewalk equipment and vehicle hardware to the ISS.

And it brought back experiments from the ship, which will be analyzed by researchers on Earth.

‘I want to give a huge thank you to the SpaceX and the NASA teams for getting this vehicle up to us in great shape, with a lot of science and surprise for the ISS,’ astronaut Shane Kimbrough, who is aboard the ISS, said during a NASA livestream.

Many residents shared the event on Twitter, showing images of the glowing craft with a long, illuminated tail as it soared over highways and neighborhoods

Many residents shared the event on Twitter, showing images of the glowing craft with a long, illuminated tail as it soared over highways and neighborhoods

CRS-23 (Commercial Resupply Services 23) was conducted using Cargo Dragon C208-23 and launched to the ISS on August 29. The mission delivered crew supplies, scientific investigations, spacewalk equipment and vehicle hardware to the ISS

CRS-23 (Commercial Resupply Services 23) was conducted using Cargo Dragon C208-23 and launched to the ISS on August 29. The mission delivered crew supplies, scientific investigations, spacewalk equipment and vehicle hardware to the ISS

‘The activities associated with SpaceX 23 kept our crew busy over the past month. We look forward to hearing about the results of the payloads we interacted with. Have a safe journey back to Earth.’

The next cargo Dragon bound for the space station is currently targeting a launch in early December.

The event comes just two weeks after another Dragon capsule returned to Earth – but this one brought the first all-civilian space mission back.

The event comes just two weeks after another Dragon capsule returned to Earth – but this one brought the first all-civilian space mission back. The Inspiration4 crew - Jared Isaacman, Hayley Arceneaux, Sian Proctor and Chris Sembroski

The event comes just two weeks after another Dragon capsule returned to Earth – but this one brought the first all-civilian space mission back. The Inspiration4 crew – Jared Isaacman, Hayley Arceneaux, Sian Proctor and Chris Sembroski

On September 18, four members of Inspiration4 splashed downed in the Atlantic Ocean near Florida at around 7pm ET, following the crews three-day stay in orbit.

The Inspiration4 crew – Jared Isaacman, Hayley Arceneaux, Sian Proctor and Chris Sembroski – launched into space shortly after 8pm EST on September 15 on board a modified Crew Dragon module from the Kennedy Space Centre in Florida.