Post by Chicago Astronomer - Astro Joe on Aug 9, 2005 23:19:28 GMT -6
Californians mistake Discovery shuttle's sonic boom for a shooting
Dozens of frightened Californians called police to report a shooting early Tuesday, but the loud noise that woke them up was the sonic boom of the Discovery shuttle returning to Earth, police said.
Shortly after 5:00 am (1200 GMT), two sheriff's offices in Antelope Valley, north of Los Angeles, fielded several calls from people reporting loud detonations.
"They heard a loud boom," said Dan Moore, an employee at the Lancaster city sheriff's department, which received some 20 calls. "They were pretty scared."
A resounding double sonic boom rang out over the California desert as Discovery prepared to land at Edwards Air Force Base in the Mojave desert, 150 kilometers (90 miles) north of Los Angeles.
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) decided to move the landing to California due to bad weather over the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida.
Many Californians were unaware of the change because the decision was taken in the middle of the night.
Discovery touched down at 5:11 am (1211 GMT) to cap a successful 14-day mission, more than two years after the Columbia shuttle disintegrated over Texas.
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