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I did get to see a night launch of the shuttle once, but from a peculiar vantage point.
Two of us were in Florida, doing a piece of work for our employer. At the hotel, they had fliers advertising a shuttle bus to the launch. But the launch was the evening we were leaving, and staying would have meant paying for air travel changes and an additional night in the hotel, out of our own pockets. We concluded that we could manage that, but my friend had a hard commitment to be home.
So, we're on our flight, probably 200 miles up the coast, when the captain comes on the PA: Ummmm... we've just gotten word that the launch will be happening in a few seconds. I've never tried this before, but I'm going to turn the aircraft East, so you may be able to see something out the right side of the aircraft.
A few seconds later, the shuttle did light up the night, even that far away. It was spectacular. Even more spectacular, it was at our altitude in just a few seconds, and soon lost out of sight above us.
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