CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – SpaceX on Thursday morning launched a Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, taking the Maxar 2 mission into orbit.
The Falcon 9′s first-stage booster landed at SpaceX’s landing zone at the Space Force station about eight minutes after liftoff, sending sonic booms across the region.
Residents in the following counties were expected to hear one or more sonic booms during the landing:
- Brevard County
- Indian River County
- Okeechobee County
- Orange County
- Osceola County
- Polk County
- Seminole County
- St. Lucie County
- Volusia County
“What residents experience will depend on weather and other conditions,” SpaceX said.
It’s not the first time a space mission prompted sonic booms in the region.
When the Ax-3 crew returned to Earth back in February, many Central Florida residents reported hearing a sonic boom as the crew plummeted toward the planet.
As boosters and spacecraft fall through the atmosphere at supersonic speeds, they spark shockwaves that travel through the air — sometimes heard by people on the ground as a sonic boom.
For Thursday’s launch, the 45th Weather Squadron forecasted a mere 20% chance of weather getting in the way.
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