There was some guy walking the driveway with a pair of binoculars combing the driveway at 4:30 this morning.

The sonic boom is a real treat, if you know it's coming.....

There are two BOOMS, the first for the nose and the tail.

Because of the cool night air and the hour, I was able to hear the echo of the booms across the valley...

In sequence it sounds like this boom-BOOOM!

You can feel the first boom push outward' a split second later the second boom feels like it pushes the ground down.

If you have ever been close to a fireworks show where you can feel the thump of shells blowing up, you multiply that by 100 and you get a space shuttle sonic boom..


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I posted this story a while back....

End of the World shuttle story..

Growing up in Southern Cal you see and hear a few things in the air, It used to be the center of air technology in the 70s, 80's and early 90's..

One thing that scares to poop out of you are earthquakes and sonic booms - the booms because you THINK they are earthquakes in the making.

Just south of Edwards Air Force Base, about 30 miles as the crow flies, is a set of mountains that separate Los Angeles County from the beginning of the desert area where the base is located..

We had spent the day on a ride through the hills and spotted at a picnic site where we stopped to have lunch. About
20 minutes later there was a huge BOOM and
what sounded like electricty bouncing around all around us.

My heart sank in my chest because I thought it was the start of an earthquake but I had never heard the 'bouncing electricity' noise......

It only took me a second to think that the world was going to end.......

As the noise echoed off into the distance I looked at my friends and they had a look on their faces that probably was the same as mine....

In unison they asked, 'What the #%8& was THAT?'

After about 10 seconds I remembered that the shuttle was scheduled to land 30 miles away....

The echoes across, and in betweenthe hills are something that defy description.

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http://www.edwards.af.mil/