Saturn V Sound

[cjackson]

How loud was the Saturn V in person? Was it louder than the Shuttle?

[WayneFrancis]

I've found a claim that it was recorded at 180 decibels and second only to nuclear bombs in terms of man made devices.

[AGN Fuel]

I was once chatting to one of my professors about the Saturn V launches - he had attended the Apollo 11 and 15 lift-offs. He said it as though he was being physically pushed backward by the noise. Even though it was some 30-odd years after the event, there was still an awe in his voice as he described it.

[Hornblower]

I've found a claim that it was recorded at 180 decibels and second only to nuclear bombs in terms of man made devices.

If I am not mistaken, that number of decibels is meaningless unless you specify the range. Is that number determined where the rocket nozzle meets the surrounding air, or is it at some standard distance from the rocket?

[jfribrg]

I remember reading somewhere that the launch was detected on seismographs 1000 miles away. I know that doesn't equate directly to how many bells, but it sure is impressive.

[BigDon]

The engines of an F-14 at high idle crank out 110+ decibles.

When my old Master Chief was seriously cheesed off at us he could yell over the top of an F-14 at high idle.

If you were getting yelled at in his office you would end up with all your hair all blown back and your eyes would be really big...

[JustAFriend]

A few years ago at a launch I struck up a conversation with an older guy at a park just north on US1 from the Cape.
He said he had come to the same spot since the 60s and the Saturn 5's were MUCH louder than the Shuttle.

[Buttercup]

Judging by the film footage I've seen, including my Saturn V launch DVD collection (yes -- **every** launch), it must have been teeth jarring and overwhelming.

Birds perched a noticeable distance away from the Saturn V can be seen immediately leaving their perch and winging it QUICKLY away ... when the rocket has just begun rumbling to life.

I'm envious of the people who were there, actually witnessing the launches of those glorious rockets!! Long live the Saturn V!! :-D

[ngc3314]

I have sort of a set of data points - Apollo 15 seen as a youngster from about 5 miles away, versus STS-82 and -125 as a not-youngster from somewhat closer. Shuttles were loud. Saturns were bone-jarring, felt as much as heard. You could hear essentially nothing else when that initial wave from the liftoff reached the viewing sites.

[Luckmeister]

I have sort of a set of data points - Apollo 15 seen as a youngster from about 5 miles away, versus STS-82 and -125 as a not-youngster from somewhat closer. Shuttles were loud. Saturns were bone-jarring, felt as much as heard. You could hear essentially nothing else when that initial wave from the liftoff reached the viewing sites.

I wonder if people ever saw the pressure wave approaching like you can sometimes in videos of large explosions. Maybe it was just gradual enough that you wouldn't.

[schlaugh]

I saw water rippling on a lake between us and the launch pad of Apollo 13. Didn't see any pressure wave though. But I did feel a deep thumping and vibration in my body.

[Luckmeister]

I saw water rippling on a lake between us and the launch pad of Apollo 13. Didn't see any pressure wave though. But I did feel a deep thumping and vibration in my body.

I watched a night Atlas launch at VAFB from less than a quarter mile away outdoors among the sagebrush (and risked getting fired for it) and it felt like nothing I had ever experienced. For a few seconds I was scared practically out of my skin. I was laying prone and could feel the ground shake. I also felt the heat.

[Swift]

If I am not mistaken, that number of decibels is meaningless unless you specify the range. Is that number determined where the rocket nozzle meets the surrounding air, or is it at some standard distance from the rocket?

An airliners.net forum discussion with some details (and some arguments as to whether they are true)

The Saturn V generated a sound level of 91 decibels from a distance of 9384 m. (That number is from the Nasa web site.) If we assume that sound decreases 6 decibels with each doubling of distance, and the background noise in the environment is 55 decibels, you could theoretically hear the Saturn V from 373 miles. Of course, it would only be slight increase in the background noise and very hard to actually detect.

For comparison the Space Shuttle noise is 90 decibels at 9384 m.

A 2002 BAUT discussion with this comment:

"Five and a half kilometers away, in the studio trailer of the Columbia Broadcasting System, the commentary of CBS correspondent Walter Cronkite was all but drowned out by the thunder of Saturn's engines, and Cronkite himself was subjected to a shower of debris shaken loose from the walls and ceiling of his broadcasting booth."

[Van Rijn]

Here's a video with the launch:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1uoVfZpx5dY

You start hearing Cronkite at about 1:50. You don't see him, but you can hear rattling, and he does mention the shaking and that they're holding the window with their hands.

[Hornblower]

Quote from airliners.net

The Saturn V generated a sound level of 91 decibels from a distance of 9384 m. (That number is from the Nasa web site.) If we assume that sound decreases 6 decibels with each doubling of distance, and the background noise in the environment is 55 decibels, you could theoretically hear the Saturn V from 373 miles. Of course, it would only be slight increase in the background noise and very hard to actually detect.

For comparison the Space Shuttle noise is 90 decibels at 9384 m.

That is comparable to the sound intensity from a typical lawn mower at full throttle about 5 feet from the user's ears. Of course the sound is very different, with a low pitched gut-shaking rumble that is felt as much as heard. The given numbers translate to roughly 150 decibels if we could somehow stand about 10 meters from the nozzles without being fried.

[BigDon]

I wonder if people ever saw the pressure wave approaching like you can sometimes in videos of large explosions. Maybe it was just gradual enough that you wouldn't.

I don't know about Saturn V's but in smaller explosions you very much see the shockwave coming towards you. Especially if you're already adrenaline buzzed so hard you're in quick time. When your brain fires from its normal 32 hertz to 64 hertz. (That's what makes crisises seem to happen in slow motion.) Then you are translated from the vertical to the horizontal faster than you can credit your senses. After that the medics are pulling bits of kevlar schrapnel out of your face with hemostats.

I only wish that was second hand knowledge. Had my lungs over-inflated as well from having my mouth hanging open like the village idiot. (Surprise will do that to you.) That was the worst part. Recovering from that. Felt like I was drowning for four days.

[Pad39A]

This is my very first posting around these parts, but I couldn't resist this topic.

I grew up during the height of the space race, and lived in Central Florida, just north of Orlando, about 60 miles from the Cape. Launches were a big deal around here. We'd watch the launches on TV, and then go running outside just in time to see the the rocket come up over the trees. Everyone came outside to see each launch with their own eyes, and during a launch, our street was always full of people looking skyward. It never occurred to me back then that this wasn't the way everyone watched a launch.

I was fortunate enough to see every Saturn launch (I-B and V) with my own eyes, and most of the Saturn V launches I saw from the space center grounds. Back then you could write to your congressman/woman or senator and request a NASA launch pass, and someone in their office would get it for you. Each pass was good for one vehicle of any size, and we'd take a van loaded with people and food. The passes were good for a particular flight, so if a launch attempt was scrubbed, you could use the same pass to go back for the next attempt. The viewing area was about 6 miles from the Pad 39 complex. I seem to recall that the entrance to the viewing area was closed 4 hours before launch (I could be wrong about this), and so you had to be in place by then. Imagine thousands of hard-core space enthusiasts enjoying what amounted to one huge tailgate party, and you have some sense of the atmosphere. It was fantastic.

But to your point: The viewing area was separated from the launch complex by a large body of water, giving an unobstructed view of the pad. When the clock finally reached 0, and the five F-1 engines came to life, the smoke and flame were so mesmerizing that it was easy to fail to notice the fact that it was dead silent! I remember distinctly one time watching a Saturn V climb skyward in complete silence, and then looking down and seeing the shock wave on the water racing toward me. When it hit: BOOM! It was deafening.

I saw plenty of launches from my home in Central Florida. The time delay was really amazing at that distance. About five minutes after launch, when the Saturn V or shuttle is often no longer visible, I'd feel a deep rumble. The sound of the launch had finally arrived.

I saw quite a few shuttle launches from the space center as well, including STS-1. There's no question that a Saturn V was louder than a shuttle. Interestingly, the shuttle also had a rougher, uneven sound to it. I've always wondered if this roughness was caused by the fact that a lot of the noise at launch from a shuttle comes from solid-fueled rockets (the SRBs), whereas the Saturn V was all liquid-fueled.

Sadly, NASA stopped issuing viewing passes after the Challenger disaster. Since then I've always felt a great sadness for all the kids who won't have the life-altering experience of seeing a launch close-up. I've seen many shuttle launches since then from the bank of the intercoastal waterway in Titusville, which is about as good as it gets if you can't get onto NASA property, but it was never quite the same.

[AGN Fuel]

Welcome to the board, Pad39A, and thank you for sharing such a special memory.

[nota]

I saw the last launch [the night shot]
over the lights of a major st in miami [27 ave 4lane major street with full lights]
and could hear a low rumble not loud but we were 300 miles away

seen some later shots but never heard one
inc a failed one that produced a bright blue bubble

[Trakar]

A few years ago at a launch I struck up a conversation with an older guy at a park just north on US1 from the Cape.
He said he had come to the same spot since the 60s and the Saturn 5's were MUCH louder than the Shuttle.

The character of the sound was much different, but that is to be expected with the five F-1s of the S-IC compared to the three much smaller RS-25s (SSME) and 2 SRBs. Shuttle launches seemed higher pitched with more "crackling". The S-IC was more booming and thunderous, but there was a twenty year period and a lot of concerts and artillery fire between watching the the Apollos lift off and watching the Shuttles slip berth, I'm sure that there is a lot of subjectivity and physical aging that influence my perceptions.

[JCoyote]

Shuttle launches were visible and audible from across the state in the Clearwater area where I grew up. The downside was that I got to see the Challenger blow up with my own eyes as a kid. It definitely cooled off the space fascination among many kids my age.

[Turtle]

I was there for the launch of Apollo 11 when I was about 11 years old. I remember it as Pad39A described it. The most surprising thing for me was being able to feel the vibration in the ground and see it in the water. I was not expecting that from 6 mile away. I was so excited I lost my glasses. Those were glorious days for the American space program.

[Swift]

Hi Turtle, welcome to BAUT and thanks for the eyewitness report. This 10 year old in 1969 is very envious.