Analysis of Starship Super Heavy’s acoustics during Flight 6

SpaceX’s Starship Super Heavy, the most powerful rocket ever launched, conducted its sixth test flight on November 19, 2024 from Boca Chica, Texas. Acoustical data were collected from 21 stations ranging from 1 to 35.5 km from the launch pad as a significant update to the eight stations in Flight 5, described in a companion paper by M. S. Kellison et al. and published in a recent letter [Gee et al., JASA Exp. Let. 4, 113601 (2024)]. In this paper, key results from the Flight 6 analysis are described. First, weather patterns differ from Flight 5 to 6, resulting in reduced sound levels beyond 10 km. Second, one Starship launch is acoustically equivalent to, on average, 2.2 Space Launch System launches and 10.8 Falcon 9 launches. This represents an update from a Flight 5 comparison. Finally, Flights 5 and 6 maximum sound pressure levels are curve-fit and projected onto a Florida map, to estimate sound levels around SpaceX’s LC-39A tower at Kennedy Space Center. These findings, which have been submitted to JASA Express Letters, provide additional insights into the Starship noise levels and contribute to a growing understanding of the acoustical environment created by next-generation heavy-lift rockets.