CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – SpaceX on Tuesday launched a national security payload atop a Falcon 9 rocket from Florida’s Space Coast.
This NROL-77 mission, a classified payload for the National Reconnaissance Office, launched from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
This is the fourth flight for the first-stage booster supporting the mission, which previously launched KF-01, IMAP, and one Starlink mission. Following stage separation, the first stage will land on Landing Zone 2 (LZ-2) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
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With SpaceX’s reusable rockets on the Space Coast, single or even double sonic booms can be heard as the commercial company lands part of its rockets, called boosters, back at Cape Canaveral.
Besides the shape and size of a rocket, weather also plays a big role in how a sonic boom travels. The speed of sonic booms can be greatly affected by temperature, wind speeds and humidity. The warmer and wetter the surrounding air is, the faster the sound will travel, compared to cold and dry air.