The train of lights was actually a series of relatively low-flying satellites launched by Elon Musk's SpaceX as part of its Starlink internet service earlier this week.
Tracking space debris is now an area of commercial interest as satellite launches go up
The test, the company's final milestone test before flying NASA astronauts from U.S. soil, had been planned to take place on Saturday
While space exploration is being largely led by government bodies, it appears private companies will guide its next phase - space travel - in the lure of extra-terrestrial real estate and resources
If Musk succeeds in his plans to send humans to Mars and builds a station there later, would that patch on the red planet belong to all mankind or his SpaceX company
The satellite was presumed to have crashed into the ocean in the secretive mission code-named Zuma
The satellite, called FORMOSAT-5, weighs nearly 1,000 pounds (450 kilograms)