This browser does not support the Video element.
Falcon Heavy launch shakes Space Coast with sonic booms
SpaceX successfully launched its Falcon Heavy rocket shortly before midnight on Thursday from Launch Complex 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center.
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. - SpaceX successfully launched its Falcon Heavy rocket shortly before midnight on Thursday from Launch Complex 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center.
The mission, designated NROL-97, carried a classified national security payload for the National Reconnaissance Office, the U.S. agency responsible for operating the nation's reconnaissance satellites.
Twin booster landings trigger sonic booms
Local perspective:
About 7 to 8 minutes after liftoff, the Falcon Heavy's two side boosters returned to Landing Zones 1 and 2 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
SpaceX is targeting a Falcon Heavy launch for the classified NROL-97 mission for the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) from Launch Complex 39A in Florida. [Credit: SpaceX]
The synchronized landings generated the familiar double sonic booms that rattled windows and echoed across the Space Coast, with the sounds heard most clearly near Cape Canaveral and Cocoa Beach and more faintly farther inland.
The sonic booms occurred as the returning boosters slowed through the speed of sound during their descent.
Mission caps busy day for SpaceX
he NROL-97 mission marked another milestone in an exceptionally active week for SpaceX.
The launch followed Thursday morning's successful Crew-13 mission to the International Space Station and another Falcon rocket launch from California earlier in the day, making it one of the company's busiest launch days of the year.
The Falcon Heavy's side boosters had previously supported the GOES-U, Viasat-3 F3 and Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope missions before flying again on NROL-97.
The Source: This story was written based on information shared by SpaceX.