Starship can create a sonic boom when it travels faster than sound: the boom is the audible effect of shock waves moving through the atmosphere. A launch’s ascent and a vehicle’s later descent or landing are distinct cases, and their effects depend on the flight path, landing area, and atmospheric conditions. The FAA and SpaceX manage potential exposure with modeling, flight and hazard-area planning, access controls, and advance public notices; these steps help manage risk and surprise, but do not eliminate booms during supersonic flight.
What causes a Starship sonic boom?
A sonic boom is not simply engine noise. It is the sound associated with shock waves created as a vehicle travels through air faster than sound. The FAA’s April 2025 Boca Chica environmental assessment describes a boom trace as an impulsive event lasting less than 300 milliseconds. The sound people hear depends on how those shock waves reach them; a short trace can still be startling. FAA Boca Chica environmental assessment
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Does the boom happen during launch or landing?
There is no single “launch boom” scenario. In its Boca Chica assessment, the FAA says the modeled ascent boom occurs over water and does not impact land. The same assessment separately considers booms from Starship and Super Heavy as they return toward landing locations. A vehicle can therefore produce a boom on a later return flight even when the ascent boom is offshore. FAA Boca Chica environmental assessment
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How far could a boom reach?
There is no universal distance that applies to every Starship flight. FAA figures below are model estimates for specific proposed actions and boom-overpressure thresholds, not measured outcomes or guarantees for future flights. Weather, atmospheric conditions, physical surroundings, and operational parameters can shift where the maximum overpressure occurs; the FAA says the contours are approximate and a location is unlikely to experience the maximum estimated overpressure more than once across multiple events. FAA Boca Chica environmental assessment
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Boca Chica, Texas
For the proposed Boca Chica action, the FAA’s April 2025 assessment used PCBOOM to estimate single-event descent levels. Its modeled 1-pound-per-square-foot (psf) contour for a Super Heavy landing could extend about 24 miles from the launchpad. The assessment estimated levels as high as 10 psf at the southern tip of South Padre Island, Port Isabel, Tarpon Bend, and northeast Tamaulipas; its 6 psf contour extended about 10 miles from the pad. These figures describe model contours for that site and scenario, not a guaranteed footprint for each flight. FAA Boca Chica environmental assessment
The FAA assessment’s perception comparisons offer context, not a prediction of what every person will hear: it says 0.2–0.3 psf might be heard by someone expecting it and listening, 0.5 psf is more likely to be noticed, and 1 psf or higher is certain to be noticed. It compares 1 psf with a clap of thunder. Individual experience and local conditions can vary. FAA Boca Chica environmental assessment
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The FAA’s separate May 2025 LC-39A biological assessment modeled launch booms over the Atlantic about 34 nautical miles offshore, as well as distinct landing booms. For the assessed landing scenarios, the 1 psf contour reached about 29.6 miles over land for Starship and 24.2 miles for Super Heavy. These are KSC estimates for a different site and proposed action; they should not be combined with or treated as Boca Chica distances. FAA LC-39A biological assessment
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How are sonic booms managed?
Model possible exposure
For Boca Chica, SpaceX used PCBOOM to estimate single-event descent levels for the FAA assessment. Contours help identify areas where different overpressures may occur, but remain approximate rather than precise boundaries for a particular day. FAA Boca Chica environmental assessment
Evaluate cumulative noise as well as individual booms
The FAA also evaluates cumulative noise using measures including C-weighted day-night average noise level (CDNL), then applies the significance criteria relevant to its review. In the Boca Chica assessment, the 60 dB CDNL contour extended about five miles from the vertical launch area, and the FAA found no noise-sensitive areas within it for the proposed action. That is a finding under the agency’s stated framework and scenario; it does not mean no individual can be disturbed by a boom. FAA Boca Chica environmental assessment
Plan trajectories, landing regions, and hazard areas
Flight paths and landing locations shape where people, aircraft, and vessels could be exposed. FAA project materials describe environmental reviews and proposed operational updates for particular sites and mission profiles. The agency’s Starship project page, last updated September 2, 2026, lists completed reviews covering increased cadence and additional Boca Chica trajectories and landing profiles, as well as a separate Pacific reentry contingency review. Completing environmental review does not by itself issue a launch license or modification. FAA Starship project page
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Restrict access in hazard areas
Access restrictions and flight hazard areas help keep people, aircraft, and vessels out of locations affected by launch or landing operations. The FAA’s Boca Chica FAQ explains how these areas and restrictions are established and how local authorities coordinate land closures. FAA Boca Chica FAQ
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The FAA’s April 2025 assessment says SpaceX’s public notification plan would announce upcoming launches and landings through news outlets and law enforcement. The assessment states: “Announcements of upcoming Starship/Super Heavy launches and landings would serve to warn people about these noise events.” Notices matter because landing booms may occur days or weeks after launch, rather than at the time people expect a launch-related noise. FAA Boca Chica environmental assessment
In 2022, the FAA said it had required more than 75 environmental mitigation actions for the then-proposed Boca Chica program, including advance notice to surrounding communities about potential engine noise and sonic booms. That number describes the agency’s historical announcement, not a count of current requirements. FAA 2022 mitigation announcement
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What do assessments say about people, wildlife, and marine life?
The FAA’s Boca Chica assessment says human-health impacts are not anticipated under the modeled proposed action. It also summarizes studies it cites as finding exposure to sonic booms up to 100 psf without adverse consequences. This is the agency’s assessment conclusion and summary of cited studies, not a guarantee about every individual, exposure pattern, or future flight. FAA Boca Chica environmental assessment
Wildlife responses are not uniform. The FAA’s KSC biological assessment discusses possible startle responses and behavioral effects among animals, so it would be too broad to say sonic booms cannot affect wildlife. For marine life, the same assessment explains that little energy from in-air noise is transmitted into water and that surface reflection and attenuation reduce underwater exposure; the associated marine assessment concludes that the evaluated boom levels are not expected to affect species beneath the surface. Those conclusions apply to the assessed settings and pathways, not every species or flight scenario. FAA LC-39A biological assessment FAA marine assessment
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