[American Constitutionalist]

Also ? when was the last time you saw a plane going almost vertical ?
Most airplane's contrails are horizontal.

[Cementjungle]

It was a fish jumping.

[upstanding]

It is horizontal. The airplane is at high altitude and the angle in relation to the camera is what makes the contrail look odd. The news camera was in the right place at the right time... or rather, the wrong place at the wrong time as they've launched a thousand tinfoil hatters. Further up or down the coast, people looked at the horizon and saw nothing out of the ordinary.

Watch the video at http://www.necn.com/11/09/10/Mysterious-missile-launched-off-Californ/landing_scitech.html?blockID=348833&feedID=4213. The first seven seconds make it pretty darn clear that the contrail is at high altitude. Note the dissipation of the contrail toward the horizon and I'm certain that you can see similar dissipation in high altitude contrails in your local area.