Expect sonic booms throughout Central Florida as SpaceX lands the Falcon 9 booster back at Cape Canaveral.
SpaceX’s Transporter-3 mission is scheduled to launch in the launch window of 29 minutes, which starts the following Thursday at 10:25 a.m. and will conclude with the expected launch of the booster in Cape Canaveral.
SpaceX will launch the Falcon 9 rocket Thursday from Florida’s Space Coast with a scheduled booster landing in Cape Canaveral, which means there’s a possibility of sonic booms being heard throughout the region.
The first step of the Falcon 9 booster plummets back to Earth just 10 minutes after its launch. Next, it generates shockwaves which create a thunderous sonic boom — that can be heard throughout Central Florida depending on weather conditions.
Usually, SpaceX launches the Falcon 9 booster out at sea. However, SpaceX is sending the rocket booster toward Cape Canaveral for this launch of several scientific and commercial payloads.
Space Force’s Space Launch Delta 45 is responsible for assuring public safety on Florida’s Space Coast. “Our SLD 45 safety team runs a series of analyses that lead us to understand what if any evacuations are required on the Cape in so that our people can be safe as that booster comes in,” said Lt. Col. Brian Eno, Commander of the 1st Range Operations Squadron.
“It certainly looks like it’s coming back on top of you until very late in its its descent before you really get a visual of just where it is landing,” said the expert.
The mission is scheduled to launch southward, changing from typical east-facing launches. It’s the second of the planned five polar launches going to the south just this month. Although there were no issues with planes or boats that were wayward to launch this week, SLD 45 asks the pilots and boaters to keep an eye on the latest danger zones for this particular launch. “These trajectories are different,” Eno said. Eno. “We must ensure that we’re aware as a collective on examining the notices.
SpaceX’s Transporter-3 mission has a 29-minute launch window, which begins this Thursday at 10:25 a.m. ET. Space Fore forecasters said there’s a 70 percent likelihood of favorable launch conditions.
The private space firm regularly lands the first stage booster on the Falcon 9 rocket and reuses it for subsequent launches, thus reducing access to space.
Source: wusfnews.wusf.usf
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