I miss the sonic booms that were a regular occurrence in my childhood in the 1970's. I lived in northern Utah, almost due north of Hill AFB. They used to fly F4 Phantom II jets and would go supersonic to the west of us as they arced towards their test range on the west side of the Great Salt Lake.
Rumors at the time were that the many dairy cows in the area produced less milk on days the Air Force flew. But I still loved the sound and the feeling of the boom shaking the house.
My grandparents lived in the same location. I used to love hearing the F-16s sit at the end of the runway at full throttle and then release the brakes. That would also shake the whole house. As a kid it was amazing to experience.
A top-fuel dragster launch is also a remarkable demonstration of power to experience in person.
I was in a small crowd standing around top fueller being tuned for the next race. The apprentice sat in the cockpit but he accidentally nudged the accelerator for a fraction of a sec. The whole crowd was pushed back as a wave. It was stunningly loud. I spoke with the engineer later: idle to 8000 and back in less than a sec.
I've only ever heard a sonic boom once as far as I can recall, while living in Gainsville FL as the shuttle was returning. It was shockingly loud.
Abnormal environment experiences do affect normal bodily functioning in animals and us. Its good that they are thinking of ways to advance technology without compromising our health.
The article does not make it clear what's special about the special dive maneuver? It makes it sound like secret magic. Does anyone know?
Nit: title should be NASA, not Nasa. The BBC spells NASA as Nasa but NASA spells NASA as NASA.
I think it's spelled NaaS now.
Nothing As A Service?
My father worked for Aerojet General in the early 60's. I have clear memories as a child of hearing thunderous booms while the northern California sky was a cloudless deep blue. I remember the sound as loud but by no means intolerable. I do not know how far the flights were occurring from where our house was in Sacramento.
Awesome. I look forward to beginning my future supersonic intercontinental flights with a dive from 50,000ft. Will certainly make travelling interesting again.