Mysterious Light in Bali Sky Causes Stir, BRIN: It's a Chinese Rocket!

The National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN) has provided an explanation regarding a video recording of a glowing object passing through the skies over Bali. The footage went viral on social media. BRIN researcher Thomas Djamaluddin stated that the glowing object seen crossing the skies of Denpasar, Gianyar, and Badung was a Chinese rocket named Smart Dragon-3 or Jielong-3. “It was the launch of China’s Smart Dragon-3 or Jielong-3 rocket on 11 April 2026 at 18:32 WIB,” he said, quoting Detik on Sunday (12/4/2026). Thomas explained that the rocket was launched via a sea-based system from Yangjiang Beach, Guangdong, China. He noted that the rocket’s trajectory did indeed pass over Indonesian skies. “Jielong is a solid-fuel rocket that launches to an altitude of 500 kilometres,” he added. Thomas also mentioned that the white smoke in the rocket’s tail was a burst of gas emitted as it traversed the upper atmosphere towards space. “For example, this could be the launch of internet satellites into a sun-synchronous orbit,” he concluded.