Cool footage of a Space Shuttle night launch

[mythbusters844]

Found this video a while ago and decided to post it here.

That visible shockwave at SRB ignition is incredible, along with the sheer brilliance of a night launch.

Oh, and for those of you wondering, this is STS-104.

[Ten Key]

I can remember when I was a kid, my family was driving through Alligator Alley in South Florida, and we pulled off the road to watch a night launch. I think it was Discovery, STS-33. The Everglades is a long way from Cape Canaveral but there was virtually no light pollution and the view was just incredible. I remember being able to clearly see the boosters coming off. Just magnificent.

[Just Jim]

I live in Florida, just north of Tampa, and we could see shuttles from here when they launched. At night they looked like a big bright dot with a tiny flame.

But one night I got really lucky and was in Daytona when one of the last shuttles went up..... that was staggering. Even from what... maybe 100 miles.... less I think... the entire sky lit up a brilliant orange, and it sounded like the air itself was being ripped apart from the force of the engines. It was amazing, and I count myself really lucky to be able to have seen at one night launch up close (relatively speaking) before they stopped the program.

[livefree75]

The spacecraft hovered over the dark side of the planet, seemingly called "Earth" by its inhabitants. The being aboard were running routine experiments, when a bright orange light flashed on the surface,starkly contrasting with the night that surrounded it. As the aliens watched, the light rose further and further above the planets surface.

Seriously, though, this video is awesome. From 0:46 to 1:00, you can see mach effects on the tail, especially around 0:55.

[Just Jim]

The spacecraft hovered over the dark side of the planet, seemingly called "Earth" by its inhabitants. The being aboard were running routine experiments, when a bright orange light flashed on the surface,starkly contrasting with the night that surrounded it. As the aliens watched, the light rose further and further above the planets surface.

Seriously, though, this video is awesome. From 0:46 to 1:00, you can see mach effects on the tail, especially around 0:55.

Actually, this brings up a good question... I wonder what a shuttle launch would look like from the ISS???