Happy Birthday, Kennedy Space Center! On July 1, 1962, NASA established the Launch Operations Center — which was later renamed the Kennedy Space Center — on the east coast of Florida.
After President John F. Kennedy famously said that American astronauts would land on the moon by 1970, NASA had to build a launch facility for their gigantic new Saturn V rocket. The facilities at Cape Canaveral couldn't support such an enormous vehicle, so NASA started building their new launch center just a few miles away on Merritt Island. Since the 1960s, this spaceport has supported all crewed spaceflight missions from the U.S., including all of the Apollo moon missions and 135 space shuttle flights.
After President John F. Kennedy famously said that American astronauts would land on the moon by 1970, NASA had to build a launch facility for their gigantic new Saturn V rocket. The facilities at Cape Canaveral couldn't support such an enormous vehicle, so NASA started building their new launch center just a few miles away on Merritt Island. Since the 1960s, this spaceport has supported all crewed spaceflight missions from the U.S., including all of the Apollo moon missions and 135 space shuttle flights.
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TechTranscript
00:00On this day in space.
00:03Happy birthday, Kennedy Space Center!
00:06On July 1st, 1962, NASA established the Launch Operations Center,
00:10which was later renamed the Kennedy Space Center, on the east coast of Florida.
00:14After President John F. Kennedy famously said that American astronauts would land on the moon by 1970,
00:20NASA had to build a launch facility for their gigantic new Saturn V rocket.
00:24The facilities at Cape Canaveral couldn't support such an enormous vehicle,
00:28so NASA started building their new launch center just a few miles away on Merritt Island.
00:33Since the 1960s, this spaceport has supported all crewed spaceflight missions from the U.S.,
00:38including all of the Apollo moon missions and 135 space shuttle flights.
00:43And that's what happened on this day in space.
00:46♪