Panicked residents call 911 after rocket's sonic boom shakes homes across Central Fla.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — An unmanned Falcon 9 Dragon spacecraft carrying 5,000 pounds of supplies launched Monday from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, and its sonic boom shook people out of sleep and set off car alarms.

Brevard County 911 dispatchers received a lot of calls from panicked residents wondering what was going on.

911 caller: “Oh my God, really? That was crazy. That freaked me out, like on the second floor, I thought they let a bomb off.”

Dispatcher: “Nope. That's the rocket.”

The boom was also heard in Volusia and Seminole counties.

Many neighbors had no idea the sound they heard was the returning rocket.

911 caller: “Oh my God! It sounded like something hit. Are you sure? Oh my God, we're sitting here shaking to death.”

The sonic boom was explained by SpaceX officials during a news conference Monday morning.

"We actually have announced this and we tell people there's going to be a sonic boom. In my eyes, it's very similar to the shuttle. So I think it's going to be the same thing. It had a characteristic double 'boom!' and people knew, 'Oh, the shuttle is coming back.' Eventually, when people get used to this sonic boom, it may be slightly different," said vice president of flight reliability for SpaceX Hans Koenigsmann.

911 caller: “Something fell out of the sky and crashed to the ground.”

Dispatcher: “Sir, I just told you, do you understand a rocket just went up?”

Caller: “OK, but something crashed to the ground. It was a loud explosion and it shook my whole house.”

Dispatcher: “Yes sir. That's the sonic boom from the rocket.”

Cox Media Group