Night Space Shuttle Launch

I got to see a night launch! The Space Shuttle Discovery launched at 11:59 PM on Mission STS-128. The shuttle will use Leonardo, a multi-purpose logistics module to carry experiment racks to the International Space Station. I drove up to Cocoa Beach to see the launch at about 11:30. This time I remembered to bring my cameras and I had my telephoto lens. I wish I had thought to take a video with my smaller camera while I was taking photos with my SLR. All of the beaches on the way to Coco Beach were packed with cars. When the space shuttle launched it lit up the entire sky before I could see the actual shuttle and then there was a huge fireball heading up into the sky and you could feel the rumbling. Someone said that this was the last scheduled night launch before the shuttles are retired. Once it got up pretty high I could see the smoke trailing behind it. My pictures don't really do it justice (the first picture is not mine). I would love to go to the space center to watch a launch in the future.