SpaceX founder Elon Musk Elon Reeve MuskTesla network outage leaves owners unable to connect to vehicles The pandemic showed states that businesses don't need special favors Would becoming one of the first people to settle Mars be worth dying for? MORE joked on Friday that his company's Falcon 9 rocket, launched in Southern California, was actually a "Nuclear alien UFO from North Korea."

Nuclear alien UFO from North Korea pic.twitter.com/GUIHpKkkp5 — Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 23, 2017

The launch from Vandenberg Air Force Base on Friday immediately drew speculation on social media, with some users suggesting that it was an alien spacecraft.

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Musk appeared content to indulge that speculation. When one Twitter user mentioned Friday night that the rocket launch sparked an "alien debate" among his family members, Musk weighed in on the dispute, tweeting, "It was definitely aliens."

It was definitely aliens — Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 22, 2017

The Falcon 9 rocket was carrying 10 satellites to low-Earth orbit, according to the Los Angeles Times. All of the satellites were successfully deployed.

The launched rocket seen in the skies above California on Friday night drew plenty of interested observers: