I read somewhere that at max Q, the shuttles hit 32,500 fps.....too bad they didn't show that.....
SOrry to say I never saw a launch first hand...it is supposed to be a wonderous thing. Most I saw was a shuttle launch using a ...titan (?) rocket....that shook the ground. I was at a bar on a pier at cocoa beach and the locals said that when a shuttle goes, the whole place vibrates.....
SOrry: I stand corrected, it reaches 25,700 fps or 17,500 mph during orbit......