A crew of four astronauts returned to Earth from the International Space Station early Monday morning while making their presence known with a loud sonic boom heard all across Florida.
News4Jax, a Jacksonville, Florida-based television news station, reported emails and phone calls from residents wondering what the loud house-shaking sound was outside.
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“This was not an alien attack but a rather successful SpaceX mission,” a News4Jax anchor quipped Monday morning about the Dragon capsule’s loud reentry into the atmosphere.
A sonic boom is caused when an object is traveling faster through the air than the speed of sound. The Crew Dragon capsule was traveling at more than 17,000 miles per hour as it began its descent to Earth.
The exterior of the spacecraft heated up to about 3,500 degrees Fahrenheit.
Many Floridians watched the space crew’s return, which looked like a fireball in the sky.
Space X re-entry with crew on board. It went right over our head! Just the coolest thing! About a minute later we heard the big sonic boom! It was so directly over my head that I had to spin with the camera to get it! #ocala #Spacex pic.twitter.com/8A9o2hxu5P
— Ashley Godwin (@RivermontFarm) September 4, 2023
Dragon capsule flying over Jacksonville on reentry. Heard the classic sonic boom about 5 minutes after this. Then the entire neighborhoods dogs waking up. pic.twitter.com/J1jbS2nNA4
— Robert Speta (@RobertSpetaWX) September 4, 2023
The National Weather Service had warned Tallahassee residents that they may hear a sonic boom Sunday night.
Heads up folks across north Florida, the peninsula, and south Georgia. The @NASA #Crew6 mission will be returning to earth tonight w/splashdown est. 1217 am ET. If you look towards the path around 1205a-1220a it could be visible. A sonic boom cant be ruled out either. #FLwx #GAwx pic.twitter.com/L7TWFAeNnh
— NWS Tallahassee (@NWSTallahassee) September 3, 2023
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The Crew-6 returned from the ISS after a six-month visit. The splashdown of the Dragon capsule occurred shortly after 12:17 a.m. EDT in the Atlantic Ocean, just off the coast of Jacksonville.
“Thanks, SpaceX. We really appreciate all the support — from all the initial training through the launch, throughout the mission, keeping us abreast of the status of the vehicle, and all the support all the way down,” Crew-6 commander Stephen Bowen said after the crew had safely landed.
