Cries of joy erupted from hundreds of tourists gathered at Kennedy Space Center on Friday as the space shuttle Atlantis rode a pillar of fire into orbit for the final time.

Some had seen shuttle launches before but never so close, while others were struggling for words and wiping away tears after watching the iconic American shuttle blast off, marking the end of a 30-year space program.

"I'm tearing up!" exclaimed Gabrielle Laine, 48, wiping at her damp eyes after seeing the liftoff from a distance of about three miles (five kilometers), close enough to feel the rocket rattle her bones.

"Awesome is not a word I use very often, but it was absolutely awesome."

Laine was among 150 users of the microblogging service Twitter who won special invitations from the US space agency to attend the launch in person and tweet about their experiences.

As she headed back into the NASA Tweetup tent, Laine recalled how the rumble of the shuttle reminded her of being near the World Trade Center on the day of the 2001 attacks.

"I was at the World Trade Center on 9-11 and that shudder that went through me was very similar," she said.

As many as 750,000 tourists descended on the area around Cape Canaveral to catch a glimpse of the history-making launch, which NASA had warned for days was not likely to go ahead due to stormy weather.

Hotels were filled to capacity in the resort town of Cocoa Beach and cars and vans crowded the roadsides overnight as visitors jockeyed for the best spots.

But in the last moments before launch, the skies suddenly cleared and the once soggy grass grew firmer after a spate of torrential rain.

"Only five minutes before I didn't think it was going to happen," said Maria Rogers, 37.

"I kind of convinced myself not to get excited and then it hit me like a ton of bricks when it did," she said, giggling.

Kevin Dang, 32, said the "rumbling was really, really loud and you could feel the ground shake.

"That was pretty awesome, it was amazing," he said.

Beth Beck, 55, an outreach director with NASA who has seen about 10 launches, posed for pictures with tourists and watched as some walked past in tears.

"It never gets old, especially when you feel it," she said. "I still have goosebumps!"

David Garrett, 76, a retired NASA spokesman, said he felt some twinges of regret at watching the final liftoff a shuttle he has known well for the past three decades.

"I feel sadness. It's a little sad. And it's true that the landing will be the worst because that will be it," he said.

Kennedy Space Center spokesman Allard Beutel, 41, agreed that emotions will be even more powerful when the shuttle returns after its 12-day mission to the International Space Station.

"It will hit really hard on landing, at the very end," he told AFP. "I think I will really start feeling it on landing. It's when you will see a lot of non-dry eyes."

Pete Riesett, 31, described the event as "amazing, best thing ever."

He said he had seen other launches from different spots along central Florida's Space Coast, but this was his first time watching it from Kennedy Space Center.

Asked if he felt any sadness for the end of the shuttle program, which began in 1981, he said no.

"To be honest, I am actually fine with it," he told AFP. "It is time for it to go and it is time for something better to come in its place."

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