I had the privilege of watching STS-134 launch from the press site and everyone tells you: "it's loud. louder than loud. you will be surprised by how loud it was." and that still wasn't enough to prepare me. It is loud. It is literally like the sound is clipping, the brapping noise moves through your teeth, it vibrates your clothes, you feel it inside of you. It is incredible, and I was so lucky to have watched it from the closest any humans are allowed to be (except for the brave rescue team in an APC 1 mile away).
Wow! That sounds like an amazing experience. Kind of a dumb question, but were you also impressed by how fast it goes up, or does it 'float' into the sky?
Yesss! I got to see STS-3 (!!!) from the press site. I was just a kid at the time on a school field trip. Our bus was misdirected to the VIP/press site, and they let us stay.. ;-) IIRC, several of the huge rental-only Canon telephoto lenses were in attendance on the photog's hill. The photographers were incredibly cool, talking with us, letting us look through their spotting telescopes and such.
The launch was far and away the loudest phenomenon I've ever heard, or ever hope to hear. Impossible to adequately describe. You don't hear the sound, you are the sound. The universe transforms, and is made of nothing but sound and vibration.
I recall being thrilled to be able to see STS-124 in May 2008, only because the previous launch had been delayed, and the new date coincided with our holiday. Among other things it was taking up parts to fix a toilet on the ISS!
I remember also being struck by not only how loud it was, but also how bright. It's something that photos or video just can't capture.
