Screeching sound blasts Los Angeles, followed by a strange rattling. What was it?
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "Screeching sound blasts Los Angeles, followed by a strange rattling. What was it?")
A loud boom, followed by a rattling, triggered an earthquake scare in Los Angeles on Saturday night. Panicked people flocked to social media to search for answers. What was it?
People in Los Angeles were rattled by a sudden sonic boom on Saturday night. It was a loud explosion that caught residents unawares at around 10:45 pm. What scared them the most was that a noticeable shaking followed the sound. People thought it was an earthquake, but it was actually a visitor from space of man-made origin. The loud noise was made by Elon Musk's SpaceX Dragon capsule returning to Earth.
The boom and the rattling were heard from Santa Monica to Fresno. People flocked to social media to know more about what shook their homes, hoping to find the answers. Some feared that it was an explosion. The incident was so scary that some social media users thought they were witnessing the end of times, with one of them stating it was likely "my last day on Earth."
Another quipped that the explosion was so loud that he thought they were all about to go out "like dinosaurs."
SpaceX Dragon capsule returned to Earth
NASA reported that a SpaceX Dragon capsule had returned to Earth. It had carried approximately 6,700 pounds of supplies for the International Space Station (ISS). It made its reentry after undocking from the ISS at 9:05 am on Friday.
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Warning issues about sonic boom in Los Angeles
After about 36 hours, the capsule splashed down into the Pacific Ocean off the California coast. SpaceX had posted a warning about an hour before the descent that the Dragon capsule would "announce its arrival with a brief sonic boom". However, the sonic boom came as a surprise to most residents of Los Angeles.
SpaceX and NASA have joined hands to ensure critical cargo and supplies reach the International Space Station. Spacecraft commonly return to Earth at supersonic speed, and this one was also monitored as routine.
Loud noises in the area near the Vandenberg Space Force Base in Santa Barbara County have become common in the area. SpaceX and the US Space Force have admitted that such noises have become common due to frequent rocket launches and landings in the area.
Concerns have been raised about the sonic booms, with appeals being made to limit them. However, military officials have dismissed them. Notably, SpaceX is planning over 90 launches from the base by 2026.
