Sonic booms expected at rocket launch in Santa Barbara

Sonic booms are expected along California’s Central Coast late Saturday as SpaceX launches a Falcon 9 rocket into orbit.

SpaceX said there is a 37-minute launch window for the CAS500-2 mission that opens at 11:59 p.m., with a backup window 24 hours later. The rocket is slated to catapult into low-Earth orbit from Vandenberg Space Force Base in Santa Barbara County carrying dozens of satellites.

Residents of Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo and Ventura counties may hear the booms, depending on weather and other conditions, SpaceX said.

It is the 54th launch of the year for Elon Musk’s commercial rocket company and the 33rd flight for the first-stage booster, which is expected to return to a landing platform at Vandenberg about eight minutes after launch.

The rocket will be carrying 45 satellites into orbit, but its primary payload is an Earth-observation satellite developed by the Korea Aerospace Research Institute, according to Space.com.

The Korean satellite was supposed to be launched in 2022 with a Soyuz rocket, but the plan was scrapped after Russia’s attack on Ukraine that year, according to the website.

SpaceX was responsible for most of the 71 rockets launched last year from Vandenberg, one of the world’s busiest spaceports.

Viewers can watch a live webcast of the launch on SpaceX’s website and on X.