The John F. Kennedy Space Center in Florida is the main US space launch site. It is named after the 35th president of the United States, who was the driving force behind the US thrust into space in the 1960s,and particularly the Apollo Moon-landing programme. It is located on Merritt Island, some 80 km east of the city of Orlando, just inland from Cape Canaveral.
The Kennedy Space Center was chosen as a launch site for the Apollo Moon shots and was completed in 1966 after four years work. The hub of the centre is launch complex 39, used for the Apollo launches and now for shuttle launches. The main features of the complex are two launch pads, 39A and 39B, and the towering edifice of the vehicle assembly building (VAB), where the space shuttle stack is now assembled. Close by is the orbiter processing facility, where the shuttle orbiter is serviced and fitted out. Next to the VAB is the launch control centre, which directs launch operations. The shuttle landing strip lies a few kilometres away.
Perhaps strangely, the Kennedy Space Center is located in a wildlife conservation areas, Merritt Island Wildlife Refuge, where alligators abound and nesting birds include the increasingly rare American bald eagle, the nation's emblem.
