A NASA F-18 dives toward a targeted area of Edwards AFB during a SonicBOBS calibration flight. Sonic Booms On Big Structures (or "SonicBOBS") is part of the NASA Dryden Flight Research Center's research in reducing not only the strength of the shockwave produced when a high-performance aircraft exceeds the speed of sound, but also the perceived intensity of those shockwaves (or "sonic booms") heard by persons on the ground. Experiments also examine the structural response of large office buildings to low-amplitude sonic booms.