Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla. .NASA
On the eastern coast of Florida lies Cape Canaveral. This low-lying area of marshland and swamp was overlooked for may years, until the 20th Century, when it became a bustling port and a famous rocket launch site. Here are five things you may not know about it.
ULA Delta IV Heavy Common Booster Cores for the Parker Solar Pro (2017-08-01) by NASA/Kim ShiflettNASA
It's not just rockets…
Cape Canaveral is best known as the United State's premier rocket test and launching site. But did you know it's also a nature reserve? The Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge is home to thousands of species of plants, insects, fish, and mammals. Of these, 21 are endangered.
Astronaut John Glenn poses for press photographers at Cape Canaveral (1962-02-01)NASA
…but it's also rockets
So why build a rocket facility in the middle of a swamp? It's all to do with longitude. Cape Canaveral is almost at the equator, where the rotation of the Earth is fastest. If you launch a rocket eastwards, it can fly faster, and if the rocket crashes… it drops into the ocean!
CAPE CANAVERAL Fla. .NASA
What's in a name?
The name Cape Canaveral dates back to the voyages of Francisco Gordillo. It takes its name from the Spanish word 'cañaveral', meaning 'reed beds'. In 1963, it was renamed Cape Kennedy, in honour of the late president, but it returned to its historic name just a decade later.
Standby…
In 1999, the North American Numbering Plan Administration allocated telephone area code 321 - just like a launch countdown - to the Cape Canaveral area in recognition of its unique place in spacefaring history.
Dragon grapple (2012-10-10)NASA
In April 2022, the first all-private astronaut team took off from Cape Canaveral. A two-stage SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket was topped by a Crew Dragon module, and carried four astronauts working for Axiom Inc to the International Space Station, and into history books.
Tap to explore
While you're here, why not take a tour around the Kennedy Space Center on Cape Canaveral. There's lots to see, such as NASA's Space Shuttle Atlantis, a historic relic of the pioneering age of space travel.
