Sunday Sonic Shock In Florida, Secret Military Space Ship Stuns As It Landed

The US military made headlines last Sunday when one of their orbital spaceships caused panic in Florida. A spacecraft returned from a secret mission and just before it landed at the Kennedy Space Center, the ship created a sonic boom. The sound was reportedly so loud that it carried for several miles, reaching Tampa and Fort Myers.

The spacecraft that caused all the commotion is the X37B, ABC News reports, and it was returning from a mission that involved spending two years in orbit. It was an unmanned space mission, which explains how it was able to stay up in orbit for 718 days. However, what the spacecraft was doing or the details with regards to the purpose of the mission are still classified.

Early Sunday, the X37B was on its way to land on a runway located at Cape Canaveral. While passing over central Florida, it caused a sonic boom, which was likely due to the fact that this is the first time that the 29-foot spaceship landed in the region.

Although the US military is reluctant to share more intimate details as to the nature of the craft’s flight around the world, experts are of the opinion that it was likely gathering intelligence. Many believe that the X37B is equipped with surveillance gear, though, the official word from the government is that the flight was “an experimental test program to demonstrate technologies for a reliable, reusable, unmanned space test platform for the U.S. Air Force.”

During the sonic boom event, many Floridians took to social media to proclaim their surprise at the unexpected noise. Some were even reporting that the shockwave that was produced when the spaceship broke the sound barrier rattled houses on the ground.

Sonic booms are a common enough occurrence in Florida due to the sheer number of flight tests conducted in the area. However, residents are often informed of the impending impact ahead of time.