Commercial Space Operations Noise and Sonic Boom Measurements (2020)

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Commercial Space Operations Noise and Sonic Boom Measurements Contents Acknowledgments ......................................................................................................................................... 1 Abstract ......................................................................................................................................................... 2 Summary ....................................................................................................................................................... 3 1 Introduction .......................................................................................................................................... 5 Background ................................................................................................................................... 5 Research Approach ....................................................................................................................... 7 2 Database of Existing Data ..................................................................................................................... 9 Solid Rocket Motor Tests at ATK ................................................................................................. 12 NASA Constellation Program ...................................................................................................... 14 1990’s Rocket Launches at VAFB and KSC .................................................................................. 15 Apollo Era (Pre-1972) Measurement Documents ....................................................................... 16 Other Propulsion Noise Measurement Documents .................................................................... 17 Sonic Boom ................................................................................................................................. 18 3 Community Noise Measurement Protocol ......................................................................................... 19 Introduction ................................................................................................................................ 19 Terms and Definitions ................................................................................................................. 19 Noise Data Acquisition System Requirements ............................................................................ 21 3.3.1 Noise recording systems ..................................................................................................... 21 3.3.2 Microphones and preamplifiers .......................................................................................... 22 Measurement Methods .............................................................................................................. 22 3.4.1 Propulsion noise and sonic boom ....................................................................................... 22 3.4.2 Microphone layout .............................................................................................................. 24 3.4.3 Vehicle data recording requirements ................................................................................. 29 3.4.4 Weather recording requirements ....................................................................................... 29 Data Analysis ............................................................................................................................... 29 3.5.1 Propulsion noise data analysis ............................................................................................ 29 3.5.2 Sonic boom data analysis .................................................................................................... 30 Reporting and Test Documentation ............................................................................................ 30 3.6.1 Short report ......................................................................................................................... 30 3.6.2 Database description document ......................................................................................... 30 3.6.3 Noise data ........................................................................................................................... 31 3.6.4 Vehicle data......................................................................................................................... 31 3.6.5 Weather data ...................................................................................................................... 31 4 Measurement Campaign ..................................................................................................................... 33 Introduction ................................................................................................................................ 33

Commercial Space Operations Noise and Sonic Boom Measurements Measurement Instrumentation .................................................................................................. 34 4.2.1 Acoustic data acquisition .................................................................................................... 34 4.2.2 Weather data acquisition .................................................................................................... 39 Measurement Documentation ................................................................................................... 40 4.3.1 Orbital ATK Antares 230, OA-8E .......................................................................................... 43 4.3.2 SpaceX Falcon 9, CRS-15 ..................................................................................................... 53 4.3.3 ULA Delta IV Heavy, Parker Solar Probe ............................................................................. 62 4.3.4 SpaceX Falcon Heavy, Arabsat-6A ....................................................................................... 71 Data Products and Deliverables .................................................................................................. 85 4.4.1 Acoustic data ....................................................................................................................... 86 4.4.2 Weather data ...................................................................................................................... 91 4.4.3 Trajectory data .................................................................................................................... 91 5 Conclusions and Suggested Research ................................................................................................. 92 Works Cited ................................................................................................................................................. 94 List of Figures Figure 1. Launch vehicle operation types. .................................................................................................... 5 Figure 2. Active and proposed U.S. launch sites and spaceports for commercial, government, and private use (FAA/AST 2018). ..................................................................................................................................... 6 Figure 3. Research approach overview for ACRP 02-81. .............................................................................. 7 Figure 4. Full-scale propulsion noise and sonic boom measurements included in the literature review. ... 9 Figure 5. Notional microphone layout for far-field community noise measurements of vertical launch/landing. ........................................................................................................................................... 24 Figure 6. Notional microphone layout for far-field community noise measurements of horizontal launch/landing. .......................................................................................................................... 25 Figure 7. Notional microphone layout for sonic boom measurements of vertical launch/horizontal launch/horizontal landing. ............................................................................... 26 Figure 8. Notional microphone layout for sonic boom measurements of vertical landing. ....................... 26 Figure 9. Notional microphone layout for community noise measurements of static vertical engine firing. ......................................................................................................................... 27 Figure 10. Notional microphone layout for far-field community noise measurements of static horizontal engine firing. ............................................................................................................................................... 28 Figure 11. Example of an ASCII header mirroring the contents of the database description document ... 32 Figure 12. Vehicle classes and thrusts. ....................................................................................................... 33 Figure 13. Example acoustic measurement set-up. .................................................................................... 34 Figure 14. Three types of microphone windscreens. .................................................................................. 36 Figure 15. NI CompactDAQ system with LabVIEW interface. ..................................................................... 38

Commercial Space Operations Noise and Sonic Boom Measurements Figure 16. Weather data acquisition systems: Kestrel 4500 BT (left) and Onset USB Microstation (right). .................................................................................................................................................................... 39 Figure 17. Rockets measured under the ACRP 02-81 measurement campaign: (clockwise) Orbital ATK Antares 230, SpaceX Falcon 9, SpaceX Falcon Heavy, and ULA Delta IV Heavy. ........................................ 40 Figure 18. OA-8E launch of Antares 230 from Pad 0A (credit: Michael James, BRRC). .............................. 43 Figure 19. Antares 230 vehicle [13]. ........................................................................................................... 44 Figure 20. Antares 230 typical mission profile to LEO from the Antares User’s Guide [15]. Actual mission profile will vary............................................................................................................................................ 44 Figure 21. Orbital ATK Antares 230, OA-8E launch acoustic measurement layout. ................................... 45 Figure 22. Orbital ATK Antares 230, OA-8E photos of measurement sites with NI CompactDAQ and/or PXI systems. ...................................................................................................................................................... 47 Figure 23. Orbital ATK Antares 230, OA-8E photos of measurement sites with SLM’s. ............................. 48 Figure 24. OA-8E pre-launch (blue) and post-launch (red) atmospheric profiles from the IGRA2 database. .................................................................................................................................................................... 52 Figure 25. CRS-15 launch of Falcon 9 from SLC-40 (credit: Michael James, BRRC). ................................... 53 Figure 26. Falcon 9 vehicle and engine configuration [14]. ........................................................................ 54 Figure 27. Falcon 9 mission profile from the Falcon User’s Guide [16]. Actual mission profile will vary. .. 54 Figure 28. SpaceX Falcon 9, CRS-15 launch acoustic measurement layout. ............................................... 55 Figure 29. SpaceX Falcon 9, CRS-15 photos of measurement sites with NI CompactDAQ systems. .......... 57 Figure 30. SpaceX Falcon 9, CRS-15 photos of measurement sites with SLM’s. ......................................... 58 Figure 31. Atmospheric profile from IGRA2 database before and after the launch of CRS-15. ................. 61 Figure 32. Parker Solar Probe launch of Delta IV Heavy rocket from SLC-37B (credit: Michael James). ... 62 Figure 33. Delta IV Heavy vehicle [13] and engine configuration [17]. ...................................................... 63 Figure 34. Delta IV Heavy sequence of events for a GTO mission (eastern range) from the Delta IV Launch Services User’s Guide [17]. Actual mission profile will vary. ...................................................................... 63 Figure 35. ULA Delta IV Heavy, Parker Solar Probe launch acoustic measurement layout. ....................... 64 Figure 36. ULA Delta IV Heavy, Parker Solar Probe photos of measurement sites with NI CompactDAQ systems. ...................................................................................................................................................... 66 Figure 37. ULA Delta IV Heavy, Parker Solar Probe photos of measurement sites with SLM’s. ................. 67 Figure 38. Atmospheric profile from IGRA2 database before and after the launch of Parker Solar Probe. .................................................................................................................................................................... 70 Figure 39. Arabsat-6A launch of Falcon Heavy rocket from LC-39A (left) and landing of the Falcon Heavy’s two side boosters at LZ-1 and LZ-2 (credit: SpaceX). .................................................................................. 71 Figure 40. Falcon Heavy vehicle [18] and engine configuration [16]. ......................................................... 72 Figure 41. Falcon Heavy mission profile as provided in the Falcon User’s Guide [16]. Actual mission profile may vary. ......................................................................................................................................... 72 Figure 42. SpaceX Falcon Heavy, Arabsat-6A launch and landing acoustic measurement layout. ............ 73

Commercial Space Operations Noise and Sonic Boom Measurements Figure 43. SpaceX Falcon Heavy, Arabsat-6A photos of measurement sites with NI CompactDAQ systems. .................................................................................................................................................................... 75 Figure 44. SpaceX Falcon Heavy, Arabsat-6A photos of measurement sites with SLM’s. .......................... 76 Figure 45. Atmospheric profile from IGRA2 database before and after the launch of Arabsat-6A. .......... 84 Figure 46. Acoustic data file header format. .............................................................................................. 88 Figure 47. Acoustic data file data format. ................................................................................................... 89 Figure 48. Example time history of the unweighted, C-weighted, and A-weighted Leq,1s. .......................... 90 Figure 49. Example time history of the OTO band levels............................................................................ 90 Figure 50. Format of radiosonde data from IGRA2 database. .................................................................... 91 List of Tables Table 1. Summary of Existing Data ............................................................................................................. 11 Table 2. Description of Events for Which Acoustic Data Were Collected ................................................... 33 Table 3. Microphone Specifications ............................................................................................................ 35 Table 4. NI Dynamic Signal Acquisition Modules ........................................................................................ 37 Table 5. Overview of Larson Davis SLM’s and Acoustic Metrics ................................................................. 38 Table 6. Weather Sensors ........................................................................................................................... 39 Table 7. Summary of Vehicle, Engine, and Mission Specifications for Each Measurement ....................... 41 Table 8. Antares 230 Vehicle, Engine, and Mission Specifications ............................................................. 44 Table 9. Acoustic Measurement Site Name and Location Descriptions for the Orbital ATK Antares 230, OA- 8E Event ...................................................................................................................................................... 46 Table 10. Orbital ATK Antares 230, OA-8E Acoustic Data Summary .......................................................... 49 Table 11. Surface Weather Observations for Orbital ATK Antares 230, OA-8E .......................................... 52 Table 12. Falcon 9 Vehicle, Engine, and Mission Specifications ................................................................. 54 Table 13. Acoustic Measurement Site Name and Location Descriptions for the SpaceX Falcon 9, CRS-15 Event ........................................................................................................................................................... 56 Table 14. SpaceX Falcon 9, CRS-15 Acoustic Data Summary ...................................................................... 59 Table 15. Surface Weather Observations for SpaceX Falcon 9, CRS-15...................................................... 61 Table 16. Delta IV Heavy Vehicle, Engine, and Mission Specifications ....................................................... 63 Table 17. Acoustic Measurement Site Name and Location Descriptions for the ULA Delta IV Heavy, Parker Solar Probe Event ........................................................................................................................................ 65 Table 18. ULA Delta IV Heavy, Parker Solar Probe Acoustic Data Summary .............................................. 68 Table 19. Surface weather observations for ULA Delta IV Heavy, Parker Solar Probe ............................... 70 Table 20. Falcon Heavy vehicle, engine, and mission specifications .......................................................... 72 Table 21. Acoustic Measurement Site Name and Location Descriptions for the SpaceX Falcon Heavy, Arabsat-6A Event ........................................................................................................................................ 74 Table 22. SpaceX Falcon Heavy, Arabsat-6A Acoustic Data Summary of Launch Propulsion Noise Event. 78

Commercial Space Operations Noise and Sonic Boom Measurements Table 23. SpaceX Falcon Heavy, Arabsat-6A Acoustic Data Summary of Landing Propulsion Noise Event 80 Table 24. SpaceX Falcon Heavy, Arabsat-6A Acoustic Data Summary of Landing Sonic Boom Event ........ 82 Table 25. Surface Weather Observations SpaceX Falcon Heavy, Arabsat-6A Launch ................................ 83 Table 26. Surface Weather Observations SpaceX Falcon Heavy, Arabsat-6A Landing ............................... 83 Table 27. File Structure in the Accompanying ACRP 02-81 Deliverables .................................................... 85 Table 28. Description of Header Fields ....................................................................................................... 86 Table 29. Description of Propulsion Noise Data Format ............................................................................. 87

Commercial Space Operations Noise and Sonic Boom Measurements 1 Acknowledgments The research team expresses our appreciation to the Airport Cooperative Research Program (ACRP) for undertaking significant research opportunities including ACRP Project 02-81, “Commercial Space Operations Noise and Sonic Boom Measurements.” We express our gratitude to the panel members and liaison members whose efforts were an integral part of the success of Project 02-81. We also express our gratitude for members of the Federal Aviation Administration, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, and the United States Air Force whose cooperation and support were key to the measurement campaign.

Commercial Space Operations Noise and Sonic Boom Measurements 2 Abstract The aim of this research project was to develop a well-documented, high-fidelity database of rocket propulsion noise and sonic boom measurements acquired using a consistent data collection and analysis protocol. First, a survey of historical measurements was performed to assess the availability, quality, and limitations of existing acoustic datasets in relation to the objectives of this research effort. Insights gathered from the literature review were leveraged to develop a community noise measurement protocol that defines measurement methods and documentation procedures for obtaining accurate, reliable, and repeatable noise data for commercial space operations. A measurement campaign was conducted using the community noise measurement protocol to collect acoustic, operational, and meteorological data during four launches representing a range of vehicle, mission, and operation types. In total, over the four measured events, more than 250 acoustic recordings were collected from 70 sites at distances between 0.2 km and 27 km from the launch and landing pads at two distinct spaceports. Ultimately, the acoustic database and measurement protocol developed during this research effort will result in improved noise predictions, which will enable decision makers to provide more accurate information to the public regarding the potential community noise impacts from commercial space operations.