2026/03/01 by Kent L. Gee, Makayle S. Kellison, Mark C. Anderson +14 · 1 voice
Earth and Planetary Sciences · #Coastal and Marine Dynamics #Ocean Waves and Remote Sensing #Seismic Waves and Analysis
paper · doi:10.1121/10.0043007
openalex publication_date 2026/03/01 · openalex created_date 2026/03/12 · openalex updated_date 2026/06/11
Reports of audible sonic booms along the south-central California coast during SpaceX Falcon 9 launch ascents prompted measurements in Ventura County during summer 2024. A total of 132 measurements were made over six launches, with 16-25 measurements per launch. The maximum overpressure measured was 1.90 psf (133 dB), but most measured booms had an overpressure below 0.5 psf and durations of several seconds. Two launches had appreciably lower overpressures and smaller terrestrial footprint, indicating that both meteorology and launch azimuth are important factors in terrestrial boom audibility. Agreement between this dataset and environmental assessment predictions was marginal.