SpaceX launched a Falcon 9 rocket from Launch Complex 39-A inside Kennedy Space Center in Florida early Thursday morning with 53 Starlink satellites for their Starlink network.

This was Booster 1069’s fifth mission overall.

Photo was taken aside the aptly named Mosquito Lagoon, and on a relatively warm winter’s night, the flying insects were out in force.

They were not the only bite-y things about — as the sound of the rocket’s engines washed over the water, a bull alligator perhaps 10-15 meters away roared his disapproval. It is said that the sub-sonic tremors that accompany any nearby rocket launch are similar to those issued by males competing with one another for territory. Undoubtedly the gator would have been foul-tempered if it had been encountered. Fortunately, that was not the case and no photographers were harmed in viewing the launch.