Florida: Explosion, sonic boom heard in Orlando as SpaceX rocket takes off; videos emerge online- ‘unusually loud’

An explosion or a sonic boom-like sound was heard in Orlando and other parts of Florida after a SpaceX rocket was launched there on Thursday, July 30.A view of the night sky amid sounds of sonic boom in Florida. Image for representational purposes. (Unsplash)“Just heard the sonic boom in central Florida!,” one person replied to SpaceX announcing the launch.A person also added “I heard the boom at about 3:22AM just east of downtown Orlando and it was unusually loud for being so far away from the LZ.”There has been no reported explosion in Orlando, Florida at the time of writing.Florida residents hear ‘loud boom’Several Florida residents reported hearing a ‘loud boom’ as the rocket took off. “Living in Florida is thinking someone is breaking into your house cause of a loud noise and the building shaking but it was actually a rocket launch causing a sonic boom at 3am oh awesome…,” one person remarked.Another added “Classified satellite launch at 3:00 AM with a Return to Launch Site landing means Florida residents get a mandatory sonic boom alarm clock. Anything for national defense!”.Yet another said, “just felt the…boom all the way in Palm Bay.” One person also added “TF? Anybody else hear that big boom in Florida?!?!?!”. On Facebook too, people began to express their complaints. One wrote “i assume it’s most likely from sonic boom following successful launch from the Cape which occurred at 3:09 am… although I’ve never heard and felt it no where near that much. Did anyone else have your home shake with a loud boom? *I live close to the Walmart market”.Also Read | Who is Gail Giustino? Martin County postal worker, 77, arrested for hoarding 80 cats, 12 dogs she collected along routeSeveral others shared their experiences in the comment section of the public group. “Pine lake estates here. Shook my house too. I thought my husband opened the garage side door,” one shared. Another added , “Yes, me too! Jones and Narcoossee. It startled me! This is the post I was looking for thank you I thought I was the only one.” Yet another said “it sounded awful; I live in Crossprairie. 3:22am.”What SpaceX said about ‘loud boom’Notably, SpaceX had warned of this ‘sonic boom’ a while back. On X, it wrote “All systems are looking good, and weather is 70% favorable for liftoff. Propellant load is about to begin for today’s launch of NROL-95 from Florida,” adding, “About eight minutes after liftoff, Falcon 9’s first stage will return to Landing Zone 2 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, announcing its arrival with a sonic boom.”