Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!rutgers!gatech!ncar!noao!asuvax!enuxha!kluksdah
From: kluksdah@enuxha.eas.asu.edu (Norman C. Kluksdahl)
Newsgroups: sci.space.shuttle
Subject: Re: Atlantis is home!
Summary: no chase plane
Message-ID: <142@enuxha.eas.asu.edu>
Date: 19 May 89 18:54:15 GMT
References: <272@skipper.dfrf.nasa.gov> <9090001@hp-lsd.HP.COM> <4453@ttidca.TTI.COM>
Organization: Arizona State Univ, Tempe
Lines: 28

In article <4453@ttidca.TTI.COM>, hollombe@ttidca.TTI.COM (The Polymath) writes:
> In article <9090001@hp-lsd.HP.COM> paulc@hp-lsd.HP.COM (Paul Carroll) writes:
> 
> }By the way, can anyone inform me as to why there are 2 sonic
> }booms, and not just one, from the shuttle?  ...
> 
> One from the Shuttle, one from the chase plane.
> 
I was at the latest landing at Edwards, and there were NO chase planes.  So
your theory goes down (not with flames, but fading slowly into the mists....)

Two sonic booms originate from different parts of the orbiter itself.  The 
first is from the nose, and the second is from aft parts of the orbiter,
such as wings and tail.  The faster the orbiter is flying, the more closely
spaced the sonic booms are--eventually they are indistinguishable.

There has been (as usual) much discussion of this double boom phenomena
here recently.  All I will add is that, since the early 1960's when I 
lived in Sheridan Wyoming, I hadn't heard a sonic boom (we used to hear them
ALL the time back then).  The landing at Edwards brought back a few memories,
and was almost overwhelming.

**********************************************************************
Norman Kluksdahl              Arizona State University
            ..ncar!noao!asuvax!enuxha!kluksdah
alternate:   kluksdah@enuxc1.eas.asu.edu

standard disclaimer implied