Overview of BYU’s acoustical measurements of the Falcon-9 SARah-1 launch, reentry sonic boom, and landing

More rockets are launching than ever before, exposing structures, environments, and communities to intense sounds and vibrations. This increased launch cadence brings about a greater need to understand the noise radiated during these launches. This paper summarizes BYU’s acoustical measurement and analysis of the Falcon 9 SARah-1 launch from Vandenberg Space Force Base in June 2022. In total, nine measurement stations were set up at locations between 400 m and 15 km from the launch pad. Additionally, this launch featured a booster landing back near the launch pad, resulting in a sonic boom about eight minutes after the launch. Each station successfully recorded the launch noise, sonic boom, and landing noise. Waveforms and spectra from the launch are discussed and compared across stations at different distances from the launch pad. The overall sound power level and other noise metrics are also discussed. [Work supported in part by NSF.]