Kennedy Space Center

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The John F. Kennedy Space Center (KSC) is the NASA space vehicle launch facility and Launch Control Center (spaceport) on Merritt Island, Brevard County, Florida, United States. The site is near Cape Canaveral, midway between Miami and Jacksonville, Florida. It is 34 miles (55 km) long and around 6 miles (10 km) wide, covering 219 square miles (567 km2). A total of 13,500 people work at the site as of early 2008. There is a visitor center and public tours; KSC is a major tourist destination for visitors to Florida. Because much of KSC is a restricted area and only nine percent of the land is developed, the site also serves as an important wildlife sanctuary; Mosquito Lagoon, Indian River, Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge and Canaveral National Seashore are also features of this area. The American Flag painted on the Vehicle Assembly Building was the largest in the world at the time of the VAB's construction, and has stars that measure 6 feet in diameter. The stripes would be wide enough to drive a bus down if it were laid out horizontally.

Operations are currently controlled from Launch Complex 39, the location of the Vehicle Assembly Building. The two launch pads are 3 miles (5 km) to the east of the assembly building. The KSC Industrial Area, where many of the Center's support facilities and the administrative Headquarters Building are located, are found 5 miles (8 km) south.

Kennedy Space Center's only launch operations are at Launch Complex 39, Pads A and B. All other launch operations take place at the adjacent Cape Canaveral Air Force Station (CCAFS), which is operated by the 45th Space Wing (45 SW) of the US Air Force.

For more information about Kennedy Space Center, read the full article at Wikipedia.
This text uses material from Wikipedia and is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.

News tagged with kennedy space center

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NASA Completes Assembly of Ares I-X Test Rocket

Space & Earth / Space Exploration

Aug 17, 2009 | 5 / 5 (1) | 0

(PhysOrg.com) -- For the first time in more than a quarter-century a new space vehicle stands ready in NASA's Kennedy Space Center Vehicle Assembly Building. The Ares I-X rocket, its simulated crew module ...

Space panel considers alternatives to NASA's plan for moon base

Space & Earth / Space Exploration

Jul 31, 2009 | 5 / 5 (11) | 17

A presidential space panel on Thursday challenged NASA's vision of establishing a base on the moon and instead weighed other ambitious options that include free-ranging spaceships that could visit destinations throughout ...

Shuttle Endeavour lands safe in Fla.

Space & Earth / Space Exploration

Jul 31, 2009 | 5 / 5 (3) | 0

Space shuttle Endeavour and its seven astronauts returned to Earth on Friday, completing a long but successful construction job that boosted the size and power of the international space station.

NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory arrives at Kennedy Space Center

Space & Earth / Space Exploration

Jul 10, 2009 | 5 / 5 (2) | 0

NASA's upcoming mission to study the sun in unprecedented detail and its effects on Earth, the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO), arrived at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, Fla. on July 9.

Obama administration to review NASA program, sources say

Space & Earth / Space Exploration

May 06, 2009 | 5 / 5 (5) | 6

In a major turnaround, the Obama administration intends this week to order a review of the spacecraft program that NASA had hoped would one day replace the space shuttle, the Orlando Sentinel has learned.

NASA to Set Official Shuttle Discovery Launch Date

Discovery to launch Wednesday as Florida braces for end of shuttle era

Space & Earth / Space Exploration

Mar 10, 2009 | not rated yet | 1

Shuttle Discovery is set to launch from Kennedy Space Center at about 9:20 p.m. Wednesday, leaving only eight more scheduled missions before NASA retires the fleet in 2010 - and devastates the Space Coast ...

NASA to Set Official Shuttle Discovery Launch Date

Space & Earth / Space Exploration

Feb 03, 2009 | not rated yet | 0

At NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, NASA managers are engaged in the executive-level Flight Readiness Review, or FRR, to evaluate Discovery’s readiness for launch.