But there's no risk to the general public, NASA assures, nor will these final shuttle-related "blast offs" deliver much of a bang to local ears."They will not really be able to hear this," said Anthony Tripp, a professional engineer with the state Department of Environmental Protection. "It's not going to make a big boom, anyway."
The motors — each of which contain 78 pounds of explosives — performed a brief but key function, pushing the spent boosters away from the space shuttle orbiters. This allowed the boosters to tumble into the Atlantic Ocean, where they were recovered for reuse.
The final burns of the separation motors are quick and fairly clean.
"Just like a shuttle launch, all that's going to be left is some gases that are not hazardous. They burn off very quickly," Tripp said.