The sonic boom from the October Starship launch measured up to 146 decibels in some areas. “That’s like being a few feet away from a gunshot without hearing protection,” Gee said.

Sonic booms from rockets are also lower frequency, with peaks of less than 1 Hz—below the range of human hearing. The result is less of a "boom" and more of a "bang," according to Gee, that can ...

The sonic boom, more distant, was a muted thump. “I wonder what our mics recorded at different locations, though,” Mr. Anderson said. “Did you feel how low-frequency the boom was?