Author Topic: Simulating the "Sound" of a Launch  (Read 2510 times)

Offline TyMoore

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Simulating the "Sound" of a Launch
« on: 03/02/2007 09:28 pm »
O.K.,

I've had an idea that came to me last year for creating a code for simulating the sound of a launch vehicle to be used in multimedia and/or real time simulations, but not being an audio person myself--I am almost completely clueless as to how to even go about tackling this idea.

Having messed around with some sound generating devices as sophisticated as a Glad ZipLoc bag filled with air (and then bursting it) and utilizing the acoustic emminations from a friend's rather large stun gun, we were able to edit, and re edit the sound to produce the sound of a major gun battle with distant explosions. We called the result "The Battle of Sarajevo" for no other reason than it sounded like a battle in that city! No problem there--I did that fifteen years ago with an old 386 computer and a very old Soundblaster card.

It wasn't until much more recently that the thought occured to me that a single balloon popping, if sampled at very high frequency and especially if filled with carbon dioxide would create a rather deep bass 'boom.' If suitably processed and randomly inserted to produce a nearly continuous soundstream, this will reproduce the characteristic 'pop' and 'rumble' sounds associated with large rocket engines. Higher frequency insertions will sound more like a large liquid propellant rocket motor, while lower frequency insertions with amplification ought to produce the deeper bass rumble of a large solid motor. Now if the insertions were controlled by a signal processor to reproduce a synthetic doppler shift--especially if this doppler shift is carefully calculated from actual flight dynamics data--range and velocity--then the characteristic 'stretching' and discretization of acoustical 'pops' associated with a rapidly accelerating vehicle ought to be reproduced nicely.

I am just not sure where to start. Anybody have an idea or experience with a sound or signal processing program that can handle a synthetic doppler shift based on external data calls (for vehicle range and velocity information?)

I think this could be a really cool idea if it could be done correctly!

Offline mastronaut

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Re: Simulating the "Sound" of a Launch
« Reply #1 on: 03/03/2007 09:50 pm »
Bring your equipment there, get the proper paperwork and press passes. Build a three sided acoustic wall, record the lift off of Shuttle, mix it using a nice editing program. Done! Make sure when you're there you check out an unmanned launch as well. There's only so much opportuntity to do it before they're museum displays.  http://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=4078&start=1

Offline SpaceCat

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RE: Simulating the "Sound" of a Launch
« Reply #2 on: 03/05/2007 01:40 am »
Strangely enough, as I'm reading this thread I'm watching the old John Travolta movie, "Blow Out" about a sound engineer- working back in the days of tape and outboard analog processors..... that was my time.  
Following my brief time with NASA in the early '70's, I spent about ten years as an audio engineer mostly in live theatre and some contract work for independent film makers.  I left 'show biz' about 1984 to get back into ocean science & submersible technology- so I missed the 'digital revolution' in audio.

But my funny story is this- sometime back then I had a client who needed a "spectacular" rocket liftoff sound.  He did not want anything 'stock' or recognizable.  Tried all sorts of things...... until just on a lark....
At the time I had a 1977 Dodge pickup that still had the little wing-vent windows.  With a microphone fixed near one of these windows and my trusty Nagra reel-to-reel on the seat beside me, I very slowly opened, then closed, said window while zipping down the Interstate at about 60 mph.  This recording was then slowed down two tape speeds on playback- resulting in something that could have passed for the simultaneous firing of 20 F-1 engines...lol.  The customer was thrilled, I got paid... everybody was happy!  :)

Offline Lee Jay

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Re: Simulating the "Sound" of a Launch
« Reply #3 on: 03/05/2007 03:16 am »
I've only seen one Shuttle launch, and from the usual distance (no press or VIP pass).  But I have to say, the IMAX movie containing a launch (I forget which one) was impressively close as far as the sound went.  I've been to more than 15 IMAX theaters, but the one here in Denver is the one with the best sound.  In fact, that theater ruined movies for me, since it and my own home system are the only two places in the city with sound I can tolerate.  The rest of the theaters are just horrible by comparision.  I haven't been to a movie at a theater in about 7 years.

Offline Dana

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RE: Simulating the "Sound" of a Launch
« Reply #4 on: 03/06/2007 01:43 am »
Quote
SpaceCat - 4/3/2007  6:40 PM

Strangely enough, as I'm reading this thread I'm watching the old John Travolta movie, "Blow Out" about a sound engineer- working back in the days of tape and outboard analog processors..... that was my time.  
Following my brief time with NASA in the early '70's, I spent about ten years as an audio engineer mostly in live theatre and some contract work for independent film makers.  I left 'show biz' about 1984 to get back into ocean science & submersible technology- so I missed the 'digital revolution' in audio.

But my funny story is this- sometime back then I had a client who needed a "spectacular" rocket liftoff sound.  He did not want anything 'stock' or recognizable.  Tried all sorts of things...... until just on a lark....
At the time I had a 1977 Dodge pickup that still had the little wing-vent windows.  With a microphone fixed near one of these windows and my trusty Nagra reel-to-reel on the seat beside me, I very slowly opened, then closed, said window while zipping down the Interstate at about 60 mph.  This recording was then slowed down two tape speeds on playback- resulting in something that could have passed for the simultaneous firing of 20 F-1 engines...lol.  The customer was thrilled, I got paid... everybody was happy!  :)

I did something very similar for our local theatre company last year. They needed a set of sounds for a dragon. One or two roaring, one spitting fire. The spitting fire one was easy, but I had trouble with the roar. (I was using some software on the stage manager's computer.) Then I got an idea: I recorded my friend's rottweiler barking, slowed it down two or three times, doubled it, and slapped on some reverb.

What had been "Woof!" became "WHHOOOOOAARRRF!!!"

Reminded me of that old guy describing his Bigfoot sighting in "Close Encounters of the Third Kind:"

"Made a sound I would not want to hear twice in my life." :)
"Don't play dumb with me! You're not as good at it as I am!"-Col. Flagg

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Offline TyMoore

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RE: Simulating the "Sound" of a Launch
« Reply #5 on: 03/06/2007 08:51 am »
Thanks for the ideas--it makes me think that I may be on the right track after all. I've messed around with the features on the sound cards quite a few times--but I've never tried something that was driven more by the mathematics than by 'seat of the pants.' I suspect that a False-Doppler or Synthetic-Doppler Transform might be quite valuable in Sound Engineering in general...

...might have to write a paper on it...Hmmm

Offline MATTBLAK

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RE: Simulating the "Sound" of a Launch
« Reply #6 on: 03/06/2007 08:59 am »

When I roll my plastic wheely-rubbish bin to the gate on collection day, across the coarse-chip scoria drive, it sounds exactly like the crackle and roar of the Shuttle SRBs!! 

I'll try to get a recording of it soon. 

:cool:
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