The space shuttle launch thing got me started on this idea cos I'm never going to see one!
But I have seen many other awesome sights, some natural and some scientific.
I'll kick off with an incredible sandstorm in the Middle East. I was on a flightline in the Arabian desert...it started to get a little windy..which cancelled flying! Yay!

So we started to prep the jets for bed, canopy covers and jet blanks etc...normal night time precautions for any jet fighter...but when the wind started to whip the buckles of the covers around our heads and the perspex we started to get a wee bit concerned...
Luckily we had started early so we were done when the storm hit properly...we rushed into our vehicles and started driving to safety of the hangar which was on higher ground
From the safety of this vantage point ( but still in the vehicles) I witnessed the most amazing cloud of sand being propelled across the desert. Obviously it was the wind just pushing the sand in front of it like a blizzard) but the sheer force of the wind was changing the landscape in front of me. The desert seemed to churn and change shape...whole buildings were being covered, our flight line was obscured and we were actually concerned about the safety of the aircraft! And you cannot imagine the noise! It was as if someone had opened fire with a thousand machines guns!
Within ten minutes the storm had passed and the blazing sun was back but fucking A!
We had to literally dig our aircraft out of the sand which had reached well up into the undercarriage bays.
The drive back to the City is another story entirely!
I will never ever forget the power of that wind....it's like a primeval force that cannot be reckoned with and actually the second time I've met it. On entirely different continents too!
I'd like to hear your stories dudes.
Peace.