Mark Anderson

Why does the Falcon-9 booster make a triple sonic boom? New research by myself and @KentLGee explains why this happens! Go check it out! doi.org/10.1121/10.003… Here are the three shocks: 1. Comes from the bottom of the booster near the engines. All supersonic objects make a front (or “bow”) shock. Because the rocket is falling engines first, the engine section is considered the front of the vehicle. 2. Comes from a combination of a rarefaction wave produced near the bottom of the booster (including, but not limited to, the folded landing legs) and a compression wave produced by the extended grid fins. These two waves merge and form a single shock in the middle of the sonic boom (actually, about 2/3 of the way through the boom in measurements). 3. Comes from just behind the top of the booster, where the air returns to ambient. If you like science like this and want to support this type of research, go ahead and open the link and download the paper. That helps show that people are interested! Rockets are awesome! Also thankful to @BYU and @BYU_PhysAstro, along with other sponsors and our friend @LaunchPhoto who let us use his photograph, for enabling this research! Some community members that we think would be extra interested in this include: @DJSnM @KSpaceAcademy @NASASpaceflight @Erdayastronaut @SciGuySpace @thejackbeyer @dwisecinema @MarcusHouse @TSHamiltonAstro

The X-59 successfully made its third flight today, & @NASA's excited to have the quiet supersonic jet in the air again! With Flight #3, the aircraft took off+landed near @NASAarmstrong & flew for about an hour while its team evaluated performance. More flights are expected soon! nasa.gov/mission/quesst/

@adamnash @NASA @boomsupersonic @NASAAdmin If anyone wants to chat sonic boom physics, feel free to reach out. Sonic booms are awesome, and I'm glad the @NASAAdmin is so enthusiastic about getting more X-planes!

@adamnash @NASA @boomsupersonic @NASAAdmin It's worth remembering that @boomsupersonic's aircraft are not designed to make quiet sonic booms. Boom did a demo of Mach cutoff flight, where no loud boom is produced on the ground as long as the vehicle flies at low Mach numbers (like 1.1-ish). But that's completely different.

Strange to see @NASA spending time and money on this when @boomsupersonic exists. Seems like those $ could be better allocated to the space program. cc: @NASAAdmin nasa.gov/centers-and-fa…

@adamnash @NASA @boomsupersonic @NASAAdmin But don't get confused, I think @boomsupersonic is doing good things. But they are in no way a replacement for the X-59 program.

@adamnash @NASA @boomsupersonic @NASAAdmin The goal of the X-59 program is to create quiet sonic booms at all Mach numbers. This will open the door to flying at any Mach number, so long as the boom is quiet enough. Boom's aircraft are not designed for this.

Rockets+sonic booms! This article discusses initial measurements of booms during vehicle ascent in Ventura County, California by @BYU @CSUBakersfield and @SLDelta30. doi.org/10.1121/10.004… This effort helps to understand potential impacts on people and coastal resources.

@KSpaceAcademy @KentLGee Thanks!

@AerospaceMark @KentLGee Congrats, Mark! 👍

Interested in rocket sonic booms? Yesterday, I successfully defended my PhD dissertation "Sonic Booms from Rockets: Measurements and Modeling". It's such a fun milestone to hit after almost five years of graduate school, and ten total years of college! My PhD Advisor @KentLGee has helped me all along the way, and my wife has been a great support! I'm so grateful for the time I've spent researching and learning at @BYU in the @BYU_PhysAstro department. I've got some loose ends to tie up, like several suggested revisions to my dissertation based on committee feedback, but in the next few months I look forward to the next steps for my career and family!

@_MaxQ_ @ulalaunch @USSpaceForce Incredible tracking, well done @_MaxQ_!

Tracking footage from this morning's launch of @ulalaunch's Vulcan rocket & the USSF-87 mission for @USSpaceForce - filmed from a perspective 3.9 miles to the west of SLC-41. SRM nozzle burn through plainly visible on the right-hand side of the vehicle, protruding in the direction of the twin BE-4 engines on the core booster. As alarming as this was, it's promising to see that the vehicle held a nominal trajectory as the flight progressed, per ULA's latest update. Standing by for additional word. 📸 - @NASASpaceflight Live Coverage Replay - youtube.com/live/y_uwK1uuK…

@MKBHD @sosonosonosono Amen!

@sosonosonosono Top 5 best money I've ever spent

i genuienly can't believe people like this actually exist wtf do you mean you pay for youtube

@PhysInHistory So happy to see everyone calling out the bad logic in this quote!

If we are honest — and scientists have to be — we must admit that religion is a jumble of false assertions, with no basis in reality. The very idea of God is a product of the human imagination. - Paul Dirac

Such a beautiful launch today! Fun fact, this booster was the first Falcon 9 booster I ever saw. I didn't see it in flight that day because of fog, but I saw it a few hours before and after the flight, and what an awesome experience the was! Happy 30th flight to my favorite booster!

@KSpaceAcademy @KentLGee @KSpaceAcademy 😂

@KentLGee @AerospaceMark you're a friend who would be interested... that it was posted on social media 🤣

Excited to have our public-facing "lay-language" paper on rocket ascent sonic booms in California! TL/DR: for a given launch trajectory, there are specific seasons where you can expect to hear a boom on land. #ASA189 #ASA_ASJ2025 Some friends I think will be especially interested: @KentLGee @NASASpaceflight @DJSnM @thejackbeyer @dwisecinema @KSpaceAcademy acoustics.org/how-the-season…

@KentLGee Haha yes, I should have stated that clearly!

@AerospaceMark Well, I am an author. 😀 Nice job!

@CookQuentinL Than you Elder Cook!

During my young adult years, some were critical of the Book of Mormon, Joseph Smith, and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Likewise, others were critical of the idea of following Jesus Christ and exercising faith in Him. Those same arguments are being trumpeted across the internet today. There has been and always will be opposition in all things. Nevertheless, those who pray, study scriptures, live the commandments, and worship and follow the Savior will see these arguments in their true light. Their faith will grow, and their lives will be blessed. The best approach for both gaining and maintaining a testimony is to immerse yourselves in the Book of Mormon, so you can experience the ongoing witness of the Spirit. Your testimony will be strengthened when you know in your heart through your prayers that the Prophet Joseph Smith was an instrument in the Lord’s hands—and that the Savior leads His church through living prophets today.

@blueorigin @SpaceX The basic idea is that the three shocks are: 1. The bow shock at the bottom of the booster. 2. A shock made by some combination of a rarefaction at the base and a shock from the grid fins (but NG suggests the grid fins might not be required!) 3. The tail shock from booster top.

Is it just me, or did the @blueorigin New Glenn booster make a triple sonic boom? The sonic boom would be the first sound to arrive at wherever their microphone would be. Three pretty distinct bangs are the first things heard. The @spacex Falcon 9 and starship boosters also make triple sonic booms. We've long waited to see whether the no-gridfin design of New Glenn would also make a triple sonic boom. And now we have a *very* tentative "maybe". But that's so fun! Any thoughts from fellow rocket fans? @NASASpaceflight @DJSnM @Erdayastronaut youtube.com/clip/UgkxdMpLQ…

@blueorigin @SpaceX If anyone wants any light reading on the subject of rocket boosters making triple sonic booms, check out our paper all about it! doi.org/10.1121/10.003…