Concerns on SpaceX 'ground shaking' remain

Boca Chica, Texas (ValleyCentral) — With the coming SpaceX launch, residents in the area are concerned about the ground shaking after takeoff.

They have noticed, in particular, the shaking of their homes and businesses.

Dr. Isaac Choutapalli is a professor of mechanical engineering at UTRGV. He explains how forces so powerful result from the sheer sound, called “pressure waves.”

Choutapalli noted that the launch at Starbase sounded at 150 dB. He doubted that force would do any serious damage to nearby cities, Port Isabel, and Brownsville.

Citing the “inverse square law” he explained “As you move away from the point of impact, the sound level decreases. At Port Isabel, you have a hundred decibels. Roughly, give or take. So, for that amount of pressure waves or acoustic sound, the damage to structured buildings is unlikely.”

Only the shattering of a few windows has been reported from previous SpaceX takeoffs.