Space Shuttle sonic boom

Last week while in Orlando, Fla on vacation I was looking up for the shuttle flying over head for a landing, not really knowing if I could actually see it (it was very hazy) and kind of gave up. Then about 10 minites later I heard the double sonic boom of the shuttle breaking the sound barrier and man was that loud. I was just wondering if thats normal for the Orlando area or was the shuttle actually flying overhead? It was great just to hear that sound. All the other people around the pool was like duh what was that and I yelled in my most geeky rocket voice and said that was the shuttle breaking the sound barrier.
Is there a sight that you can find the shuttle landing pattern for the last mission? I really could not find anything exact. Thanks.

cornyL said:

Then about 10 minites later I heard the double sonic boom of the shuttle breaking the sound barrier and man was that loud. I was just wondering if thats normal for the Orlando area or was the shuttle actually flying overhead?

Click to expand...

Yeah that's normal and it was the shuttle. But by the time you hear the
sound the shuttle is MUCH closer to the landing facility...

From my place (~55 miles west of the VAB), we usually hear the booms
at 5 minutes before touchdown. 'Course it depends on the flight path-
Sometimes (if the path is along the coast) we don't hear anything.

I've only been to one landing (circa 1993) and couldn't see a thing
until the 'on at the 180' call. And this was directly across the river
from the Shuttle Landing Facility with crystal clear weather conditions.

The STS-124 landing ground track is here-
https://spaceflightnow.com/shuttle/sts124/080612tracks/

I was visiting my parents in Titusville, right across the "river" from the Cape, last February. My mother and I went on the tour and were told by a bus driver to be sure to listen for the double sonic boom when the shuttle landed the next morning.

A few minutes before the appointed time my uncle, mother and I went to the shore. My uncle is one of these headstrong guys who knows everything. "Oh, we're too far away to hear it. You'd have to be right under it. We're totally in the wrong . . ."

BOOM!

BOOOM!

Windows shake, dogs bark, every bird within miles takes off.

"Ah!" says my uncle after a moment, "those were cannon used to scare birds away from the landing area!"

Stefan_Jones said:

I was visiting my parents in Titusville, right across the "river" from the Cape, last February. My mother and I went on the tour and were told by a bus driver to be sure to listen for the double sonic boom when the shuttle landed the next morning.

A few minutes before the appointed time my uncle, mother and I went to the shore. My uncle is one of these headstrong guys who knows everything. "Oh, we're too far away to hear it. You'd have to be right under it. We're totally in the wrong . . ."

BOOM!

BOOOM!

Windows shake, dogs bark, every bird within miles takes off.

"Ah!" says my uncle after a moment, "those were cannon used to scare birds away from the landing area!"

Click to expand...

I cant help but LOL.

The mach pop is pretty typical. We heard it here in San Diego about 5 minutes before touchdown the last time the shuttle landed in California.

In Tennessee we only hear two booms in a row when someone misses his first shot at a 'possum.

Here in the Daytona Beach area, about 60 miles North of the landing site, we hear the Shuttle's boom whenever it re-enters along the coast. Actually, it is more prevalent when you are indoors. You can feel the whole house shake and the windows rattle.

The same goes for launches. The whole house starts to rattle like a freight train is passing right behind the edge of your property line.

Stefan_Jones said:

BOOM!

BOOOM!

Windows shake, dogs bark, every bird within miles takes off.

"Ah!" says my uncle after a moment, "those were cannon used to scare birds away from the landing area!"

Click to expand...

The idea is not too outrageous ....

https://www.cnn.com/2006/TECH/space/06/30/shuttle.vultures/index.html

NASA may also use loud noises to scare the birds away. Many airports use propane cannons, which create a sound like a shotgun to scare birds from runways.



-- Roger

cornyL said:

... was like duh what was that and I yelled in my most geeky rocket voice and said that was the shuttle breaking the sound barrier.

Click to expand...

BTW, it's not really "breaking the sound barrier" since it's travelling faster than the speed of sound from the time it hits the atmosphere to shortly before landing.

One time the shuttle landed at about 4:00 in the morning. The booms woke me instantly. I jumped up quickly and almost ended up standing on my bed!

But most times when I hear "boom boom" I turn on the TV and catch the landing live on the NASA channel.

-- Roger

STRMan said:

The same goes for launches. The whole house starts to rattle like a freight train is passing right behind the edge of your property line.

Click to expand...

Here in Oviedo (east Orlando), I've only (obviously) heard the launch a couple of times when the launches were at night or early in the morning. Otherwise, ambient noise covers it up. During one of the morning launches, our garage door rattled which was cool.

-- Roger

Double boom shooting possums.:rotflol::rotflol::rotflol::rotflol:

jadebox said:

BTW, it's not really "breaking the sound barrier" since it's travelling faster than the speed of sound from the time it hits the atmosphere to shortly before landing.
-- Roger

Click to expand...

Yeah, isnt it the shuttle hitting the atmosphere at high speed creating the boom? Because I dont think it would make the sonic boom going back under the speed of sound.
-Tom

Actually, the boom is created continuously for the entire duration that an object is supersonic (it's not just when it "breaks" the sound barrier or anything like that).

cjl said:

Actually, the boom is created continuously for the entire duration that an object is supersonic (it's not just when it "breaks" the sound barrier or anything like that).

Click to expand...

You beat me to it.

cjl said:

Actually, the boom is created continuously for the entire duration that an object is supersonic (it's not just when it "breaks" the sound barrier or anything like that).

Click to expand...

Really? I didn't know that.

I knew it would create a continuous "boom" as it traveled faster then mach, but isn't the "double boom" caused when it actually drops below mach and the continuous boom ends? Something about the shock wave on the leading and trailing edges?

that second boom is from the new snoop dogg album.

For more complete information, use wikipedia and look up sonic booms or go to the NASA educational website(s).

Airport propane cannons are NOT as loud as the orbiter sonic boom and cannot be heard in Titusville (it's all I can do to not type in the name we actually use for Titusville...). I can see not wanting to hit a bird, but there are no jets to ingest a bird like at a regular airport. Birdstike on a radome is not pretty. I've got lots of photos......Geese- very messy.

Handeman said:

I knew it would create a continuous "boom" as it traveled faster then Mach, but isn't the "double boom" caused when it actually drops below Mach and the continuous boom ends?

Click to expand...

Nope.

Something about the shock wave on the leading and trailing edges?

Click to expand...

The double-boom is two sonic booms - one from the front of the shuttle and the other from the back. They are both produced continuously as the shuttle travels faster than sound. You hear the booms on the ground when the cone of the shock wave intersects your position.

-- Roger

jadebox said:

Nope.



The double-boom is two sonic booms - one from the front of the shuttle and the other from the back. They are both produced continuously as the shuttle travels faster than sound. You hear the booms on the ground when the cone of the shock wave intersects your position.

-- Roger

Click to expand...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sonic_boom

https://www.nasa.gov/audience/forstudents/brainbites/nonflash/bb_home_sonicboom.html