What was that noise? SpaceX Dragon capsule rattles Los Angeles area with sonic boom
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No, that wasn’t an earthquake. A sonic boom caused by a SpaceX cargo vessel rattled Los Angeles late Saturday evening. Residents across a broad swath of the region reported a loud boom and rattling sensation around 10:45 p.m.
The rattle arose from a SpaceX Dragon capsule that was reentering the atmosphere, according to a post on X from Elon Musk’s space company. .
“Dragon will also announce its arrival with a brief sonic boom prior to splashing down in the Pacific Ocean,” SpaceX posted about an hour before the boom was reported. The account said the capsule was due to make its entrance around 10:44 p.m. Saturday.
The unpiloted spacecraft had transported about 6,700 pounds of crew supplies, equipment and other resources to the International Space Station, according to NASA. It undocked from the International Space Station around 9:05 a.m. Friday before beginning its journey back to the coast of California.
On social media, local residents vented fear, loathing and just a sprinkling of glee.
“It was SO loud I genuinely thought we were about to all go out like the dinosaurs,” TikTok user @limeysublime posted under her video of the bright, comet-like object hurtling through the night sky over Santa Monica.
“I’m in Corona and began hyperventilating when I experienced it,” user Felix Jordan wrote in the comments. “[I] thought it was my last day on Earth.”
Residents from as far away as Irvine and Fresno raced to Reddit and TikTok to report a loud boom and rattling sensation around 10:45 p.m.
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A sonic boom was heard across Los Angeles as a SpaceX cargo vessel lit up the night sky.
Some thought it was a seismic event, others an explosion, still others that its source was an episode of the television series “Andor” on their flatscreen or an intruder on the roof.
“I thought my fish tank blew up,” said Trent McGee, 38, of Orange, who was lying in bed watching “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off” when he felt the boom.
After rushing to see that his 360-gallon aquarium was intact and his porcupinefish and other exotics were unharmed, he checked Reddit to find out the source of the noise.
“I wish I knew the sonic boom was coming because I would have gone outside to get a better experience,” he said.
Sonic booms have become a source of consternation for people living near Vandenberg Space Force Base in Santa Barbara County, where officials with SpaceX and the U.S. Space Force have acknowledged that their rocket launches and landings are causing the regular rattles.
“We get woken up a couple times a week,” said Brooke Heflin, 37, of Camarillo. “Right when you’re getting into a deep sleep it’s like a big boom — the walls shake, the windows shake, the dogs start barking. You wake up to an explosion, basically.”
Last year, military officials rejected calls to reduce sonic booms coming from SpaceX rockets in the area, which have been increasing in frequency. Musk’s agency said it plans to launch more than 90 rockets from the base by 2026.
“When you’re awakened in the middle of the night, your heart starts racing — oh my God, what is it?” Heflin said. “And then your mind finally becomes clear: It’s SpaceX again. And then you have to go back to sleep.”
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