<p class="title">A Dutch website set up to record UFO sightings was flooded early Saturday with reports after a "train of stars" was spotted crossing the Netherlands' skies, sparking fears of an alien invasion.</p>.<p class="bodytext">But what some thought to be a close encounter of the third kind turned out to be a string of some 60 satellites launched by US-based SpaceX hours earlier as part of its "Starlink" constellation.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The row of satellites which are part of a plan by billionaire Elon Musk's firm to provide internet from space, glided across Dutch skies around 1:00 am (2300 GMT).</p>.<p class="bodytext">Shortly afterwards, Dutch website www.ufomeldpunt.nl was inundated with more than 150 sighting reports, with astonished spotters describing a "bizarre train of stars or lights moving across the skies at constant speed".</p>.<p class="bodytext">"There's a long line of lights. Faster than a plane. Huh?" one spotter reported, while another called it a "star caravan" and one saying "I have it on film".</p>.<p class="bodytext">One spotter simply texted: "WTF?"</p>.<p class="bodytext">"I didn't know what to make of it," an unnamed witness later told the NOS public broadcaster.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"Is it Russia attacking the US? Are they UFOs? Seriously, I didn't know," the witness said.</p>.<p class="bodytext">One of SpaceX's Falcon 9 rockets blasted off without incident from Cape Canaveral in Florida at around 0230 GMT on Friday.</p>.<p class="bodytext">An hour after liftoff, the rocket began to release the satellites at an altitude of 280 miles (450 kilometres).</p>.<p class="bodytext">The satellites then had to separate and use their thrusters to take up their positions in a relatively low orbit of 340 miles (550 kilometres).</p>.<p class="bodytext">Each of the satellites weighs 227 kilograms (500 pounds) and was built in-house in Redmond, near Seattle.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Starlink will become operational once 800 satellites have been activated, which will require a dozen more launches.</p>.<p class="bodytext">One Dutchman who remained unfazed was satellite spotter Marco Langbroek, who knew what the mysterious lights were -- and had his camera on hand.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"I cheered them on, the moment they appeared," he told the NOS.</p>
<p class="title">A Dutch website set up to record UFO sightings was flooded early Saturday with reports after a "train of stars" was spotted crossing the Netherlands' skies, sparking fears of an alien invasion.</p>.<p class="bodytext">But what some thought to be a close encounter of the third kind turned out to be a string of some 60 satellites launched by US-based SpaceX hours earlier as part of its "Starlink" constellation.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The row of satellites which are part of a plan by billionaire Elon Musk's firm to provide internet from space, glided across Dutch skies around 1:00 am (2300 GMT).</p>.<p class="bodytext">Shortly afterwards, Dutch website www.ufomeldpunt.nl was inundated with more than 150 sighting reports, with astonished spotters describing a "bizarre train of stars or lights moving across the skies at constant speed".</p>.<p class="bodytext">"There's a long line of lights. Faster than a plane. Huh?" one spotter reported, while another called it a "star caravan" and one saying "I have it on film".</p>.<p class="bodytext">One spotter simply texted: "WTF?"</p>.<p class="bodytext">"I didn't know what to make of it," an unnamed witness later told the NOS public broadcaster.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"Is it Russia attacking the US? Are they UFOs? Seriously, I didn't know," the witness said.</p>.<p class="bodytext">One of SpaceX's Falcon 9 rockets blasted off without incident from Cape Canaveral in Florida at around 0230 GMT on Friday.</p>.<p class="bodytext">An hour after liftoff, the rocket began to release the satellites at an altitude of 280 miles (450 kilometres).</p>.<p class="bodytext">The satellites then had to separate and use their thrusters to take up their positions in a relatively low orbit of 340 miles (550 kilometres).</p>.<p class="bodytext">Each of the satellites weighs 227 kilograms (500 pounds) and was built in-house in Redmond, near Seattle.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Starlink will become operational once 800 satellites have been activated, which will require a dozen more launches.</p>.<p class="bodytext">One Dutchman who remained unfazed was satellite spotter Marco Langbroek, who knew what the mysterious lights were -- and had his camera on hand.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"I cheered them on, the moment they appeared," he told the NOS.</p>