SONIC BOOM PREDICTOR
When a Falcon 9 booster returns and lands at the Cape or Vandenberg, or when Starship's Super Heavy booster returns to Starbase in Texas, it breaks the sound barrier twice on the way down. Two distinct booms separated by a fraction of a second, traveling outward at the speed of sound. People hundreds of miles away have reported rattling windows. Enter your location and find out if you are in the zone.
Not sure which zone? Falcon 9 launches from Kennedy Space Center and Cape Canaveral land at LZ-1 or LZ-2. Launches from Vandenberg land at LZ-4. Starship Super Heavy returns to Starbase. The launch page at goforlaunch.live/launches lists the site for each upcoming mission.
A supersonic vehicle generates a continuous shock wave, not a single event. When Falcon 9 or Starship returns, you hear two distinct booms because the nose and the base of the rocket each generate separate shock waves that reach your ears at slightly different times. The gap between them depends on the size of the vehicle and your angle relative to its flight path.
Sound travels at approximately 767 mph at sea level in dry air at 68 degrees Fahrenheit. Temperature, humidity, and altitude all affect propagation speed. This calculator uses standard sea-level conditions. Real arrival times may vary by several seconds depending on atmospheric conditions on launch day.
Under typical conditions, the sonic boom from a Falcon 9 landing is audible up to approximately 50 miles from the landing zone. Beyond that range the shock wave attenuates below the threshold of human hearing. Unusually calm atmospheric conditions have pushed reported ranges to 75 miles or more. Starship's Super Heavy booster is considerably larger than Falcon 9, and observers near Starbase have reported the boom as noticeably more intense at close range. Urban environments with reflective surfaces can amplify the effect locally.
Falcon 9 booster separation occurs approximately 2 minutes 30 seconds after liftoff. The booster then executes a boostback burn, an entry burn, and a landing burn before touching down approximately 8 to 10 minutes after launch. When Starship's Super Heavy booster returns to Starbase for a catch, it separates around 2 minutes 24 seconds after liftoff and reaches the landing zone approximately 7 minutes after launch. The sonic boom arrives at your location after the landing, delayed by the time it takes sound to travel from the landing zone to where you are standing.
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