JACKSONVILLE, Fla – NASA will conduct flights near Cape Kennedy to produce sonic booms for a two week period in August.
The goal of the study is to see how air turbulence affects the way sonic booms reach the ground.
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The humid air in Florida can make sonic booms louder. Pervious tests in the hot dry climate of Edwards Air Force Base will be compared to measure the difference humidity plays in magnifying the boom.
Creating the sonic boom requires a NASA's F-18 will flying at least 32,000 feet when it goes supersonic off the eastern coast of Florida. Microphone arrays on the ground record the loudest booms while the flight path is positioned to minimize the booms from residential areas.
While sonic booms will be more audible on the beaches north of KSC, Jacksonville will not be close enough to hear any of the tests. Cape Canaveral Air Force Station will hear "muted," or quieter, sonic booms. Areas south of Port Canaveral and Cocoa, are likely to hear a sound closer to the rumble of distant thunder.
FAA, currently prohibits supersonic flights over land because of the loud disruptive sonic boom but data collected will enable future supersonic aircraft to develop quieter soft thump sounds in place of the louder boom.
The project aims to collect data in three different conditions, including low turbulence, medium turbulence and significant turbulence, to obtain a stronger understanding of how the variations impact sonic booms. To monitor these conditions, NASA meteorologists will be on-site using anemometers to measure wind speed, a sonic wind profiler to measure wind conditions at low altitude, and a flux sensor to measure changes due to humidity.
NASA is expecting to fly the F-18 two-to-three times per day, starting Monday, Aug. 21 and will conclude the end of the month or early September, focusing on collecting data on a targeted minimum of 33 sonic booms.
