SpaceX launches Falcon 9 rocket from Southern California, warning of sonic boom in the region

SpaceX launched the Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Space Force Base in Santa Barbara County Saturday night and the company had warned that residents in the region could hear a sonic boom or two upon the rocket’s landing.

Falcon 9, described by the aerospace giant as the world’s first orbital class reusable rocket, was scheduled to launch from the U.S. Air Force base at 10:13 p.m. PST and carry the OneWeb Launch 20 Mission into low-Earth orbit. After departing from Space Launch Complex 4 East, the rocket was to land on SpaceX’s Landing Zone 4 back at Vandenberg about eight minutes after takeoff.

The rocket blast was live-streamed Saturday night.

“There is the possibility that residents of Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, and Ventura counties may hear one or more sonic booms during the landing, but what residents experience will depend on weather and other conditions,” the company said in a statement.

Sonic booms have been a particular point of the controversy surrounding SpaceX’s rocket launches off the state’s coast. Last week, the California Coastal Commission denied the Elon Musk-owned company’s plans for more launches when it proposed increasing the number of blasts to up to 50 a year. In response, SpaceX sued the state panel this week.

Members of the commission have voiced concerns about possible effects on wildlife, with environmental advocates warning about potential harm to marine life, birds and other animals. Southern California residents have also felt the effects of the sonic booms, sometimes startled by their noise and impact, according to the Los Angeles Times.

“One time, I thought a car hit my house,” Mikayla Shocks of Camarillo told the Times. “It’s felt by everyone. We hear the boom. My dog freaks out.”

According to the Times, U.S. Space Force officials have said that while some monitoring has shown animals can end up fleeing due to the noise, they usually return later and there have been no long-term effects seen. However, some environmental advocates and scholars told the Times those reactions can already be an indicator that wildlife may be hurt in the long run.

“Over a longer period of time, there may be reductions in the population of fish as they move away from the sound, or they may be affected to the point that it affects their health,” Duncan Leitch, a professor of integrative biology at UCLA, told the news outlet. “It would change the ecosystem as far as other animals that rely on the fish.”

But the federal lawsuit from SpaceX also cites the fact that some on the state board mentioned Musk’s beliefs, with some members mentioning his involvement in the presidential race as he supports Donald Trump and political comments he’s made. In court filings, his company’s lawsuit has accused the coastal commission of “naked political discrimination.”

Meanwhile, Musk has gained support in the ongoing legal battle from a relatively unlikely source — California Gov. Gavin Newsom. “I’m with Elon,” the Democrat said late Thursday, according to Politico. “I didn’t like that.”

“You can’t bring up that explicit level of politics,” he later added.