GOLDEN VALLEY, Minn. — Lots of viewers took to social media over the weekend to ask what was this strange line of lights in the sky that passed over the region? And it's not the first time we've had questions about this kind of formation. Just last May, the same thing happened over the Upper Midwest:
So what was it? It turns out it was a string of satellites launched last Wednesday by SpaceX as part of their Starlink satellite program. Right now, they are still clustered together at a lower altitude but as they continue to rise up to their final destination about 340 miles above the earth's surface, they'll spread out and become less visible.
As of today, SpaceX has launched just over 400 of these satellite but hope to eventually have over 40,000 satellites beaming back affordable internet access across the globe. They’re hoping the pilot program for this internet service will be available across the United States and Canada later this year.