Loud noises emanating from SpaceX's Starship may cause harm to nearby buildings due to their powerful sonic booms.
The Starship rocket, developed by SpaceX, made its fifth test flight in October, creating a thunderous noise that could potentially cause damage. During reentry, the Super Heavy booster ignited 13 Raptor engines to control its descent.
This latest test flight also produced a sonic boom that was at least 10 times louder than SpaceX's Falcon 9. The sonic boom produced by Starship's fifth integrated test flight exceeds that of NASA's Space Launch System (SLS) during liftoff, according to recent findings published in the Journal of the Acoustical Society of America's Express Letters.
However, the impacts of this noise on structures and the environment, as well as the air pressure resulting from the sonic boom, remain to be fully understood. A research group at the Chair of Experimental Physics at Loughborough University in Great Britain is currently studying these effects and intends to publish their results.
The Starship rocket's increased frequency of launches, with Elon Musk aiming for 25 in 2025 and building up to 100 launches a year, could have significant impacts on the surrounding areas. The launch site in Boca Chica is surrounded by a wildlife habitat that's considered refuge to several endangered and threatened species like ocelots, piping plovers, and Kemp's Ridley sea turtles.
Before Starship took to the skies, SpaceX's previous activities on its launch site had already led to a dramatic decrease in shorebird populations. This has led to a lawsuit filed by a group of environmental organizations in Texas against the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), accusing them of rushing the permitting process without adequate environmental review or mitigation requirements.
SpaceX has denied these allegations, stating that they are committed to minimising any potential impact on the local environment and wildlife. Despite the controversy, the Starship rocket lifted off for its most recent test flight on Tuesday, burning approximately 3,400 tons of propellant during its launch and reentry.
Read also:
- European transportation's sustainability and competitiveness rely on a "green industrial agreement" that serves the interests of both corporations and residents, as discussed in an Editorial from August 2024.
- Indian Oil Corporation's Panipat Refinery secures India's inaugural ISCC CORSIA accreditation for Sustainable Aviation Fuel production
- Porsche Macan Accelerates into Second Generation of Electric Power
- Increasing Trend Downthe Globe: A Growing Number of Individuals Opt for Electric Vehicles Over Long Distances
