Florida residents report hearing sonic booms during Falcon 9 rocket launch: 'House shook'
BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. - Some Florida residents may have heard sonic booms following the liftoff of a Falcon 9 rocket on Thursday morning.
SpaceX launched the Maxar 2 mission from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station at 9 a.m.
RELATED: SpaceX set to launch Maxar 2 mission into orbit from Florida on Thursday
SpaceX said there was a possibility that residents of the following counties could hear one or more sonic booms, but the sound would depend on weather and other factors:
- Brevard
- Orange
- Osceola
- Indian River
- Seminole
- Volusia
- Polk
- St. Lucie
- Okeechobee
Several people took to social media after hearing the sonic boom.
"Just heard it! House shook!," one Facebook user said. "I thought the sky just fell on my roof! Uff!," another stated.
What is a sonic boom?
A sonic boom happens when something travels through the air faster than the speed of sound – about 750 mph – resulting in a loud boom similar to an explosion or thunder, according to NASA and U.S. Air Force.
NASA said the sound energy of a sonic boom is around 110 decibels.