Musk attacks! Tycoon’s satellites mistaken for UFOs

A STREAM of bright lights travelling in a perfectly straight line through the night sky have left residents in rural areas scratching their heads.

A series of UFOs paying a New Year visit to Britain? No – in fact, there’s a more down to earth explanation.

The train of lights came from satellites being launched by billionaire Elon Musk to provide ultra-fast internet access. The American technology entrepreneur has begun his ambitious plan to send thousands of satellites into orbit, claiming his SpaceX project could provide three billion people who currently do not have access to the internet a cheap way of getting online.

The lights from the craft were most visible in areas with less light pollution, with sightings reported in rural Shropshire, Staffordshire, Worcestershire and in the Peak District

in Derbyshire over the past few evenings. They were expected to be visible again last night in some areas.

Jennifer Williams, who saw the satellites from her home in Shrewsbury, said: ‘At first I wondered what they were. It did look a little eerie but then we Googled it and found out they were part of the SpaceX programme. The evening was so clear and we were able to see the stars really brightly so these stood out very well. It certainly provided a talking point.’ Mark Le Coultre saw the lights above his home in the Shropshire town of Shawbury. He said: ‘I noticed a strange procession of what seemed like moving stars that were evenly spaced. There seemed to be at least 30.’

The train of lights will disappear once the satellites spread out to their final orbits of around 217 miles. SpaceX launched 60 satellites into orbit last year, with plans for 1,500 more this year.