Comparative analysis of noise from three Falcon 9 launches

Abstract

This study investigates the far-field noise from three Falcon 9 vehicle launches from Vandenberg Air Force Base, CA, USA, as measured from the same location within the nearby community of Lompoc. The overall sound pressure levels for the three launches are shown to be similar, but some differences in the early launch period are thought to be weather-related. The peak directivity angle in overall level is approximately 65 deg, which is consistent with horizontally-fired, static rocket data. For the third launch, waveforms and spectra are analyzed for different events during the launch sequence. The measured spectral bandwidth decreases with time, but spectral levels remain above the ambient noise throughout the main-engine firing. Additionally, late-launch phenomena observed in the data appear to be correlated with main-engine cutoff and second-stage engine start.