New data shows that the noise level of SpaceX’s Starship rocket far exceeded the maximum noise level predicted, and the powerful sonic boom produced by its liftoff could damage buildings in densely populated residential neighborhoods near the launch site in South Texas.
Measurements of the actual noise and air pressure produced by Starship during its fifth test launch in October are the most comprehensive data ever publicly released about the noise of Starship, the world’s largest and most powerful rocket ever built. Starship made its sixth test flight yesterday, Wednesday.
As tall as a 30-story building, the Starship rocket is so big that it produces ten times more noise than SpaceX’s Falcon 9, according to new data. Kenneth LG, an independent acoustic engineer who conducted the recent review, told The New York Times:
For residents of South Padre Island, about 6 miles (9.5 km) from the SpaceX launch site in South Texas, the noise during the October test flight was equivalent to standing 200 feet away from a Boeing 747 as it took off.
Dr. Jay is the dean of the School of Physics and Astronomy at Brigham Young University in Utah. He also works with NASA to study ways to reduce the effects of noise produced by supersonic aircraft. The results of his experiment were published last Friday in the Journal of the Acoustical Society of America. The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and SpaceX did not respond to The New York Times’ requests for comment on the report.
According to NASA, when the Concorde supersonic jets were still in service, the United States banned them from flying over land so that the sonic booms caused by the high-speed flight of the aircraft would not scare people or potentially damage buildings.
The loudest sound during the fifth test was not heard when the starship lifted off from the launch pad, when the rocket lifted off from the ground with its 33 Raptor engines firing. Instead, the report’s data show that the peak noise from the sonic boom was produced approximately 6.5 minutes after liftoff, when the first-stage booster returned to its launch pad for landing.
According to the data, during the launch of the rocket, the sound pressure level heard in the city of Port Isabel, approximately 56 kilometers from Starbase, reached a maximum of 105 decibels. This level of noise is comparable to that emitted during a typical rock concert or using a chainsaw. As the Superheavy returned to Earth, the maximum noise level heard in Port Isabel and South Padre Island was close to 125 decibels, which is equivalent to close range gunfire.
read more
Port Isabel city officials conducted separate tests last month by hiring a sound consulting firm. Officials are increasingly concerned that SpaceX launches could damage homes in the small town of roughly 5,000 people. According to Jared Hakema, mayor of Port Isabel, their findings showed that the peak sound pressure reached 144.6 decibels when the Superheavy returned to the ground.
According to the Federal Aviation Administration, when pressure levels reach 48.8 kg/m2, especially if it happens repeatedly during launches, buildings may experience minor damage such as cracks in plaster walls or broken old, flimsy windows. But until the pressure level reaches about 97 kg/m2, this is unlikely to happen.
