Far-field acoustic modeling of rocket noise to determine community impacts

The emerging commercial space market is generating interest in commercial launch site (“spaceport”) development around the United States. FAA regulations require all new spaceports to acquire a launch site operator’s license, which is considered a Federal action subject to environmental review. Potential noise impacts are evaluated based on FAA Order 1050.1E, Change 1, Environmental Impacts: Policies and procedures, which include the assessment of DNL and may be supplemented with additional acoustical metrics. These supplemental metrics may range from speech interference to structural damage impacts. Extensive studies and research have examined the appropriateness of these metrics in relation to aircraft operations. However, the differences between these acoustic sources and operational modes stress the need for computer models and impact criteria specific to launch vehicles. Further measurements and research are needed to improve rocket source characterization, long-range sound propagation of high amplitude waveforms through complex atmosphere, and environmental and community impacts. The evolving nature of the regulatory environment surrounding rocket noise warrants a renewed focus on appropriate noise modeling and impact criteria to determine potential conflicts with launch noise.