Cape Canaveral Space Force Station

Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on Florida’s Atlantic coast has been one of the central launch sites in American spaceflight since its origin as a missile testing ground established in 1949. Operated today by Space Launch Delta 45 as the primary launch site for the Eastern Range, it produced major firsts including Explorer 1, the first U.S. satellite, and the first American human spaceflights of Project Mercury. Gemini and Apollo test missions also launched here, alongside the tragedy of the Apollo 1 fire at Launch Complex 34. The station later became crucial to robotic exploration, launching missions that achieved many planetary firsts, and it remains an active military, scientific, and commercial spaceport.

Florida · United States