The Shuttle Must Be Home

[eric&gen 0]

I watched the shuttle land this morning.

[Marilyn. 340]

is that for real?

yes, it is real

The term sonic boom is commonly used to refer to the shocks caused by the supersonic flight of a military aircraft or passenger transports such as Concorde (Mach 2.03, no longer in service) and the Space Shuttle (up to Mach 27). Sonic booms generate enormous amounts of sound energy, sounding much like an explosion; typically the shock front may approach 167 megawatts per square meter, and may exceed 200 decibels. Thunder is a type of natural sonic boom, created by the rapid heating and expansion of air in a thunderstorm.

The sound of a sonic boom depends largely on the distance between the observer and the aircraft shape producing the sonic boom. A sonic boom is usually heard as a deep double "boom" as the aircraft is usually some distance away. However, as those who have witnessed landings of space shuttles have heard, when the aircraft is nearby the sonic boom is a sharper "bang" or "crack". The sound is much like the "aerial bombs" used at firework displays.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sonic_boom

Edited November 7, 2007 by MarilynP

[Nessa 23]

[Jasman0717 9]

Glad they got home safely. Anyone watching that Mars Rising TV show?

I hadn't heard of it so I just went to the website. Sounds like. William Shatner. Is narrating.

Thats the one and they have James Cameron as advisor to NASA. How weird is that

[chri'stina 190]

OOh I didn't hear it! I have heard it before and think it's so cool. I am on the FL west coast so either it didn't pass close enough this way or I was distracted when it happened. I was out to lunch at that time.