As rocket launches become more frequent along California’s Central Coast, Vandenberg Space Force Base is expanding its ECOBOOM research program to better understand and reduce sonic booms that impact nearby communities, drawing on data collected from 23 launches since mid-2024.
The research is aimed toward informing future launch planning, helping officials balance national security missions with environmental protection and public quality-of-life concerns, according to a statement from Vandenberg.
Launched in June 2024, the ECOBOOM program is a research partnership between Vandenberg Space Force Base, Brigham Young University, California State University-Bakersfield, and other agencies focused on how rocket noise travels through the atmosphere and affects surrounding communities…