[meteorite-list] Wales: why no sonic boom

From: Ron Baalke <baalke_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Thu Apr 22 10:28:24 2004
Message-ID: <200310100336.UAA01510_at_zagami.jpl.nasa.gov>

> The Shuttle generates
> a double sonic boom (one for each wing).

Doing some research, I've found out that the
double sonic booms are are from the nose and the tail
of the Space Shuttle. It turns out that most aircraft
traveling at supersonic speeds will generate two sonic booms, but
the two sounds are so close to each other they're usually heard
as a single boom. The shuttle is long enough (122 feet)
that the nose shock waves and tail shock waves are 0.5 seconds apart,
making the two sonic booms very distinquishable. So, I stand
corrected.

Ron Baalke
Received on Thu 09 Oct 2003 11:36:52 PM PDT