SpaceX Falcon Heavy booster landings, sonic booms wow Kennedy Space Center launch fans
Three minutes after the SpaceX Falcon Heavy triple-core rocket lifted off the launch pad Tuesday, thousands of squinting spectators searched the sun-splashed sky for signs of side boosters at NASA's Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex.
"See those two dots in the contrail? Those are the side boosters coming back. So those will kind of arch to your right, in the direction of the (Vehicle Assembly Building), because that's where pad 13 converted to Landing Zone 1 and 2," Bill Schafer, a Delaware North communicator, told a crowd of NASA GOES-U viewing ticket holders at the Apollo/Saturn V Center lawn.
A chorus of "Aaah!" with assorted screams burst out four minutes later when twin orange flames appeared beneath the distant boosters during their descent burns. They landed roughly 1½ minutes later, miles to the southeast at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
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"Hang loose. We're not done," Schafer, who was wearing a black headset and carrying a portable speaker, implored the audience. "You should hear, in just a moment, the sonic boom followed by the roar of the engines."
"It's going to be big. It's going to be loud," he told a boy standing nearby.
Then a pair of cannon-like double-booms thundered seconds later, drawing applause. A hefty crowd had descended on the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex for the fan-favorite Falcon Heavy launch, which occurred at 5:26 p.m. EDT from pad 39A.
Prime viewing tickets at the Apollo/Saturn V Center on Banana Creek went on sale June 11 — and all tickets sold out by the next morning, spokesperson Ashlynn Webb said.
By 2:30 p.m. Tuesday, dozens of spectators were already seated in bleachers amid sunshine and hot weather just outside the KSC main visitor complex facing NASA Parkway West, a full three hours ahead of launch.
By 4:55 p.m., the heat index hit a sweltering 99 degrees at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, the National Weather Service reported.
Meteorologists at the NWS station at Melbourne Orlando International Airport cheered the launch of NOAA's GOES (Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite) weather satellite, which will help forecasters monitor hurricanes, wildfires and severe weather.
"Florida sees an average of 21 lightning flashes per square mile per year, the highest in the nation! It's important for residents and visitors to monitor the weather, especially if thunderstorms are forecast (like today)," NWS Melbourne officials said in a Tuesday morning tweet.
"When thunder roars, go indoors!" the tweet said.
For the latest news from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station and NASA's Kennedy Space Center, visit floridatoday.com/space.
Rick Neale is a Space Reporter at FLORIDA TODAY. Contact Neale at Rneale@floridatoday.com. Twitter/X: @RickNeale1
This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Falcon Heavy sonic booms wow NASA Kennedy Space Center launch fans
