SARASOTA, Fla. (WWSB) - A test launch of SpaceX’s Starship lit up the skies along the Gulf Coast Monday night, giving beachgoers on the Suncoast a spectacular view. The Starship-Super Heavy rocket launched from Starbase, Texas, on a suborbital flight at 7:15 p.m. EDT. It was the 11th flight of the integrated launch vehicle.

SpaceX and United Launch Alliance will share in $1.1 billion for seven missions, the latest round of deals in the National Security Space Launch program.

Space Coast Office of Tourism data shows overnight visitors who primarily travel to Brevard County to see a launch spend an average of $231 per day.

Starbase will be using its power for the first time this week ahead of Monday’s planned launch of a Starship from SpaceX’s rocket development and launch site.

Independent media and tourism ventures have sprouted near the South Texas spaceport. But the City of Starbase’s new powers are making things more complicated.