| Cape Canaveral is a well-known area in the | | | | the Space Race. The Shepard and Glenn |
| State of Florida ( in the United States. It | | | | missions were studies done by NASA regarding |
| was the site of many notable launches of | | | | short-term human survival in outer space, |
| spacecraft for space travel including Apollo | | | | while the Gemini space flights were done to |
| 11, the first flight to the moon. | | | | see if long-duration space flight was |
| | | | possible for humans. All of these missions |
| The Start of the Space Age | | | | were feasibility studies to prepare mankind |
| | | | for the journey to the Moon. |
| On October 4, 1957, the Union of Soviet | | | | |
| Socialist Republics launched the first | | | | The Apollo Missions |
| artificial satellite off Baikonur Cosmodrome | | | | |
| and ignited the beginning of the Space Race. | | | | In a bid to gain an edge over the USSR |
| At this time, the USSR and the USA was | | | | following its failure to launch the first |
| engaged in a Cold War and the Space Race was | | | | artificial satellite, the United States |
| part of it. Naturally, the United States | | | | announced in 1961 that it will put men on the |
| wished to catch up and made its own attempt | | | | Moon. This announcement paved the way for the |
| to launch an artificial satellite - nicknamed | | | | Apollo program (1961-1975), a series of |
| Vanguard TV3 - off Cape Canaveral Air Force | | | | launches off Cape Canaveral aimed to conduct |
| Station. This was to be the first launch of | | | | lunar landing operations by American |
| United States spacecraft off Cape Canaveral. | | | | astronauts. |
| | | | |
| The launch was carried out on December 6, | | | | The U.S. government then acquired 131 square |
| 1957. However, the launch was deemed a | | | | miles of land in Merritt Island by outright |
| failure as the rocket vehicle exploded upon | | | | purchase and negotiated with the state of |
| launch after losing thrust and crashing back | | | | Florida for an additional 87 square miles. |
| into the launch pad. The accident is assumed | | | | All operations were to be expanded to the new |
| to be caused by the breach of ignited fuel | | | | site, which was subsequently named Launch |
| into the rocket's fuel system, although the | | | | Operations center in July 1962, and finally |
| true reason has never been revealed or | | | | to John F. Kennedy Space Center in November |
| confirmed. | | | | 1963. It was from this new site that the |
| | | | Apollo missions and the later Space Shuttle |
| The U.S. bounced back on its failures, | | | | missions were launched. |
| though, successfully launching its first | | | | |
| artificial satellite on January 31, 1958. | | | | Although it began with a failure - Apollo 1 |
| Dubbed "Explorer 1", the satellite was the | | | | burned on the launch pad killing its three |
| first to discover the Van Allen radiation | | | | astronauts including Gus Grissom of the |
| belt - a belt of charged particles trapped in | | | | Gemini project - the Apollo program was |
| space - although the discovery would only be | | | | largely successful. On July 16, 1969, Neil |
| confirmed later on during the launch of | | | | Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landed on the Moon, |
| Explorer 3. | | | | followed by several others until December |
| | | | 1972. The only other failure within the |
| The National Aeronautics and Space | | | | Apollo program is an in-space accident aboard |
| Administration was created on July 28, 1958 | | | | Apollo 13, a mission that was deemed a |
| to answer the U.S. Congress' perceived threat | | | | "successful failure" because the crew made it |
| to the U.S. security following the launch of | | | | back safely to Earth. |
| Sputnik by the USSR. It commenced operations | | | | |
| on October 1, 1958, with only four | | | | Later Missions and Current Status |
| laboratories and 80 employees but, after | | | | |
| awhile, it incorporated the Naval Research | | | | The Cape Canaveral area continued to be used |
| Laboratory and the Army Ballistic Missile | | | | as a launch pad for later space flights. |
| Agency to augment its academic ranks. | | | | Space Shuttle Columbia, the first Space |
| | | | Shuttle to be fired into space, was launched |
| What followed was a flurry of launches of | | | | off JFK Space Center on April 12, 1981. Other |
| spacecraft, all of them using the Cape | | | | shuttles were launched using JFK Space |
| Canaveral area as a base. Alan Shepard's | | | | Center. |
| space journey aboard Freedom 7 was launched | | | | |
| off the John F. Kennedy Space Center on May | | | | JFK Space Center is also open to public |
| 5, 1961. John Glenn, the first human being to | | | | visitors, with two museums and two IMAX |
| make a complete orbit around the Earth, and | | | | theaters for tourists. The Visitor Complex |
| the Friendship 7 spacecraft was also launched | | | | staff allows visitors to tour the restricted |
| off Cape Canaveral on February 20, 1962 as | | | | facilities for a fee. |
| well as Gus Grissom and John Young aboard | | | | |
| Gemini 3 on March 23, 1965. | | | | Residents living in the Florida area can |
| | | | easily access the Kennedy Space Center |
| All of these space missions, however, only | | | | Visitor Complex. |
| served as a precursor to a bigger event in | | | | |