Sonic Booms near Vandenberg & Central Coast, CA

Vandenberg Space Force Base on California's Central Coast is a major launch site for polar-orbit missions. SpaceX Falcon 9 boosters returning from Vandenberg launches produce sonic booms heard from Santa Maria to San Luis Obispo. The relatively low population density means fewer web traffic spikes, but the booms are still clearly detected.

7 Events Detected

Confirmed
March 17, 2026
Santa Paula, CA — Starlink 17-24
SpaceX launched 25 Starlink satellites from Vandenberg SFB's SLC-4E at 10:19 PM PDT on March 16. Booster B1088, on its...
Confirmed
March 13, 2026
Ventura, CA — Starlink 17-31
SpaceX launched 25 Starlink satellites from Vandenberg SFB's SLC-4E at approximately 7:58 AM PDT on March 13. Veteran...
Suspected
February 18, 2026
San Luis Obispo, CA
A traffic spike was detected near San Luis Obispo on the afternoon of February 18, about 5 hours after a separate...
Suspected
February 18, 2026
Santa Maria, CA
A strong traffic spike was detected near Santa Maria on the morning of February 18. A SpaceX Starlink 17-25 launch from...
Confirmed
February 15, 2026
Vandenberg, CA — Starlink 17-13 (600th Falcon 9)
SpaceX's 600th Falcon 9 mission launched 25 Starlink satellites from Vandenberg SFB's SLC-4E at 5:59 PM PST on February...
Confirmed
February 11, 2026
Vandenberg, CA — Starlink 17-34
SpaceX launched 24 Starlink satellites from Vandenberg SFB's SLC-4E at 9:11 AM PST on February 11. Booster B1100, on...
Confirmed
January 15, 2026
SpaceX Crew-11 Dragon Re-entry
NASA's Crew-11 Dragon capsule made an early return from the ISS after one of its four astronauts required urgent...