This was recorded with my cell phone from my front porch on August 28, 2009. Not bad, considering I live 95 miles from Kennedy Space Center.

When they ignite the rockets, I see a bright flash of orange light. When the shuttle goes to maximum thrust for liftoff, I see an even brighter, steadier orange light glowing in the distance. It takes about 15 degrees of the sky.

Once the shuttle clears the treeline, I see a very powerful flame pushing it up and northeast. After a while, I see the fuel canisters separate from the shuttle, they glow in the air for a while, and fall out of sight. Meanwhile, the shuttle continues on its path to space. From this point, it looks to be the brightest glowing star in the sky.

I watched it until I lost track of it. That has got to be the most badass method of getting one’s ass into space I’ve ever seen.