I've seen many shuttle launches; we generally just go stand in the street and watch them go. The first time, though, is a very moving experience. My wife, son, me, and my parents were all standing on the riverfront downtown when the first shuttle went up in 1981 - the feeling of pride and exhileration brought tears to our eyes. Like Don said, it's almost a religious experience the first time.

I saw Challenger explode in 1986. I was standing in front of the shop where I worked with my co-workers, watching it go, and waiting for the familiar ground-shaking rumble to begin when it suddenly went all wrong. That put the whole area in a state of shock and disbelief for days. It was like we had all lost a member of our family or a personal friend... It was a happy day when the next shuttle finally launched a couple of years later.

Everyone should get to see a launch in person once - television just doesn't do it justice. Oh, by the way, the sonic booms only occur on landing.