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Nov 10, 2023

SpaceX boom felt across Florida Panhandle after Dragon capsule returns

Did anyone else hear that boom? People along the Florida Panhandle took to

Did anyone else hear that boom? People along the Florida Panhandle took to social media late Tuesday night asking that question around the same time a SpaceX capsule returned to Earth from the International Space Station (ISS).

The private flight carrying two Saudi astronauts and two other passengers returned after a nine-day trip to the ISS and splashed down just off the Florida Panhandle about 12 hours after undocking from the orbiting lab, reported the Associated Press.

The mission, dubbed Ax-2, was the second chartered flight by Axiom Space, a private American space infrastructure developer on a mission to build a commercial space station.

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The Ax-2 crew safely returned to Earth at approximately 10:04 p.m. Tuesday, according to Axiom.

Social media was abuzz with video clips of what sound like two distant explosions and sleepy Floridians wondering what the commotion was about.

"We heard the boom here in Pensacola about 25 min ago," wrote Twitter user Jeaniene Church. "No video, but sonic boom in East Milton, shook the house," replied Jacob German.

Former NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson, who commanded the mission, was joined by the first two Saudi Arabian government-sponsored astronauts: Ali Alqarni and Rayyanah Barnawi. Rounding out the crew was spaceflight participant John Shoffner, who privately funded his trip and became the first person from Alaska to fly to space.

Axiom did not release how much Shoffner and Saudi Arabia paid for the planned 10-day mission, but the company previously cited a ticket price of $55 million per seat.

Whitson flew the mission as an employee of Axiom Space. After retiring from NASA in 2018 as the record holder of the most time in space by an American, she joined Axiom Space as its director of human spaceflight. Her record now stands at 674 days in space, and with Axiom-2, she became the first woman to command a private spaceflight mission.

While in space, the crew "executed over 20 STEAM outreach engagements and over 20 different experiments, as well as eight media events," according to a statement by Axiom. Accompanying the crew on the return trip were the results of those experiments and over 300 pounds of cargo.

Contributors: Jamie Groh - Florida Today