People Thought It Was a Missile - It Was Actually a Russian Rocket
A strange glowing formation seen over parts of northern Europe this week was not a missile attack, but the visible exhaust plume of a Russian space launch, according to Russia’s Ministry of Defense.
Videos shared widely on social media on Thursday evening showed a bright, tentacle-like shape spreading across the night sky. Some users claimed the object was linked to a missile launch toward Ukraine, triggering speculation and concern online.
That explanation was quickly challenged by space observers. Astrophysicist and satellite tracker Jonathan McDowell said the sighting appeared to match a Russian Soyuz launch from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome at around 16:50 UTC on Sept. 17. He suggested the payload could have been another Glonass navigation satellite, although that detail has not been officially confirmed.
On Friday, Sept. 18, Russia’s Ministry of Defense released footage confirming that a Soyuz-2.1b rocket had launched from Plesetsk the previous evening. The ministry said the rocket carried a satellite for military use but did not identify the spacecraft or provide details about its mission.
The unusual light pattern was caused by a phenomenon often called a “space jellyfish.” It occurs when a rocket climbs into the upper atmosphere during twilight. While people on the ground are already in darkness, the rocket’s exhaust plume can still be lit by the Sun. As the exhaust expands in the thin atmosphere, it forms a glowing cloud with long trailing structures that can resemble a jellyfish.
Similar displays have been seen during other rocket launches, including SpaceX Falcon 9 missions from Florida and California, as well as previous Soyuz launches from Russian and Kazakh launch sites.
Plesetsk, located in Russia’s Arkhangelsk region about 800 kilometers north of Moscow, is one of Russia’s main military spaceports. It is frequently used for launches of Defense Ministry satellites, including several Soyuz-2.1b missions earlier in 2026.
The launch path also undermines claims that the event was connected to an attack on Ukraine. Rockets launched from Plesetsk commonly fly northward into high-inclination orbits, a trajectory that has previously made their exhaust plumes visible from Finland and Scandinavia. Ukraine lies south of Plesetsk, in the opposite direction from the typical ascent route for such missions.
While Russia has confirmed the launch, it has not disclosed the satellite’s designation, orbit, or exact role. The payload remains classified, consistent with Moscow’s usual practice for military space missions.
For now, the widely shared “sky jellyfish” appears to have been a dramatic but natural-looking byproduct of a routine military satellite launch — not evidence of a missile strike.
