Frantic calls from New Hampshire to Canada about strange lights in the sky had police scrambling to look for unidentified flying objects only to find out the fireballs coincided with Monday evening's launch from Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

A defense agency spokesman described the launch was for a "national security satellite."

Sgt. Derek Strong of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police told the Bangor Daily News that the orange lights were caused by debris re-entering the earth's atmosphere and crashing into the ocean off Point Lepreau, New Brunswick.

Ken Stewart of the U.S. Coast Guard said calls were fielded from Portsmouth, N.H., "all the way to Nova Scotia," The Associated Press reported.

The satellite launch that brought the fireballs that prompted many calls to local police.