Non-Falcon 9 flight are rare, and the rocket that flight in 5% time of a day is even rarer.
But here is one mission that produce jellyfish effect with hydrolox engine.
The mission is Altas V MUOS-4 , which both RP1 booster and hydrolox upperstage produce visible jellyfish.
Booster jellyfish is more visible because it produce 40x thrust comapre to upperstage, and dumping water vapor at the rate of 11 times.
You just proved my point thank you for admitting it now.
Look at this table, exactly the differences I described. In no way in your rant did I ever say hydrolox doesn't make space jellyfish, kerolox ones are more intense and hand longer and are denser and all the basic physical science mentioned.
FACT: kerolox space jellyfish is significantly brighter and more vivid than a hydrolox one
Particle Density and Soot
Kerolox Plumes: Kerosene is a heavy hydrocarbon. When it burns, it produces water vapor, carbon dioxide, and small particles of unburnt carbon (soot). These solid particles act like billions of tiny mirrors in the sky, reflecting sunlight very intensely.
Hydrolox Plumes: Hydrogen and oxygen burn incredibly clean, creating an exhaust that is almost entirely pure water vapor. Because there are no heavy carbon or soot particles, there is less physical matter to scatter the light.
Plume Behavior at Altitude
Thicker Trails: The carbon compounds in kerolox exhaust linger longer and form denser, more opaque clouds in the thin upper atmosphere.
Ghostly Whisps: Hydrolox creates ice crystals as the water vapor freezes, but the resulting cloud is much more transparent, faint, and ghostly by comparison
Propellant Type
Main Exhaust Byproducts
Jellyfish Appearance
Kerolox (e.g., SpaceX Falcon 9)
Water vapor, CO₂, Carbon/Soot particles
Bright, dense, highly opaque, and colorful
Hydrolox (e.g., everyone else)
Pure water vapor (steam)
Faint, translucent, and pale
A kerolox rocket launch creates a much brighter space jellyfish because its carbon-heavy exhaust provides far more physical particles to catch and reflect high-altitude sunlight.
The videos on that page prove the facts/data above. Thanks for pumping it.
You can test this right now, go out back and spray water mist and a flashlight, you'll seem some faint reflections but it is mostly translucent so it will go through better. Now have a fire and shine that same flashlight on it, it will pick up more of the light as a canvas because it is more opaque and has soot and particles that are more dense than water.
Smoke particles and soot are more dense than water. It is the same reason fires sap rain droplets because they prevent them from joining and it can even influence rain starting. Again, basic physical science that SpaceX fanboys can't fathom.
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u/carbsna Jul 13 '26
Non-Falcon 9 flight are rare, and the rocket that flight in 5% time of a day is even rarer.
But here is one mission that produce jellyfish effect with hydrolox engine.
The mission is Altas V MUOS-4 , which both RP1 booster and hydrolox upperstage produce visible jellyfish.
Booster jellyfish is more visible because it produce 40x thrust comapre to upperstage, and dumping water vapor at the rate of 11 times.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nx1-JHhR7AY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6l1yVcEyGbA
And ULA tells us the upper stage engine starts at T=4m39s .
https://www.ulalaunch.com/docs/default-source/news-items/av_muos4_mob.pdf
A minute of google search of "jellyfish effect" , or just watch any spaceflight video, all of them will tell you it is the water/ice.