NASA’s Artemis II Crew Rockets Home – San Diego Braced for Sonic Boom Blast
NASA is set to wrap up its first crewed lunar mission in decades as the Orion capsule hurtles back to Earth at over 24,000 mph. The four astronauts – after a 10-day journey that included a flyby around the Moon – are scheduled to splash down in the Pacific Ocean off San Diego’s coast around 5:07 p.m. local time on Friday, April 10, 2026.
Coastal residents in San Diego County could hear a loud sonic boom between 5 and 5:15 p.m., loud enough to rattle windows, as the capsule slams into the atmosphere. NASA and the U.S. Geological Survey have put out the alert, though whether the boom reaches land depends on conditions.
This marks a key step in America’s push to return humans to the Moon and beyond, reviving the spirit of the Apollo era with modern hardware and an international crew including NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen.
Navy recovery teams aboard the USS John P. Murtha stand ready to pull the capsule and crew from the water. It’s a high-stakes finale to a mission that tests deep-space travel ahead of future landings.
Keep an ear out, San Diego – the sky might just deliver a thunderous welcome home for American explorers.