Fifty years ago I was one year out of high school, lived in Atlanta. I got together with 2 of my high school buddies, I borrowed my parents' big old Ford station wagon, and we drove down to Cape Kennedy.
We arrived there at 3 am. We were 14 miles away, that was the closest you could get. We were on a country highway, and both shoulders were packed with people who wanted to see the launch. It was great, everybody was up and talking to one another, drinking beer, or coffee.
It was a great festival in celebration of America, which was a pleasant change from the acrimony present every day, due to Vietnam. There was an air of excitement.
NASA did a great pr job, the rocket was very well lit up. Even from 14 miles away you could clearly see the giant white rocket, it looked beautiful.
About 9 am, they lit it up! What a fantastic fireball!
But, apparently we were so far away the sound didn't carry, for it made no noise at all. We all watched as the giant rocket slowly climbed into the clear blue sky.
Then, the sound wave hit us. It is the loudest sound I have ever heard. It made the earth shake, or at least it felt like it did.
We watched the big rocket slowly climb into the blue sky, and slowly angle towards the east. In a minute or two, it was gone.
