This is the breathtaking moment a SpaceX rocket soared through the night sky above California.

The first-stage booster, launched from Vandenberg Space Force Base in Santa Barbara County, completed its 23rd flight on February 10.

Stunning footage shows the rocket hovering in the atmosphere over Perris, leaving traces of a white exhaust plume.

Local media reported that residents in Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, Ventura, and parts of Los Angeles counties were able to witness the rocket's fiery trail as it successfully carried 23 Starlink satellites into orbit.

Elon Musk, an entrepreneur and business magnate, founded SpaceX in 2002. It is a private aerospace manufacturer and space transportation company with several ambitious projects aimed at revolutionising space travel and making humanity a multi-planetary species.

SpaceX has achieved numerous milestones, including launching the first privately funded spacecraft to reach orbit, the first to dock with the ISS, and the first to send astronauts to space from American soil since the Space Shuttle programme.