Experience the thrill of the Space Coast. Rockets carrying spacecraft lift off from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, northeast of Port Canaveral. The Port is the best viewing site for launches. Every U.S. manned space mission and hundreds of . . . — — Map (db m164405) HM
Established by the United States Air Force in 1950 as the Joint Long Range Proving Ground, this area supported the initial development of America’s space program. The era of the Space Age for the U.S. began on this site with the launch of America’s . . . — — Map (db m154077) HM
The first missile launched from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in 1950. Space exploration and missile testing still keep the station active.
The Air Force operates the historic 1868 Cape Canaveral Lighthouse. Tour the Air Force Space and . . . — — Map (db m164444) HM
When the Lighthouse was moved to this site in 1894, the Head Keeper's cottage, the First Assistant Keeper's cottage, and one storage building were also moved. Soon after another storage building and a cottage for the Second Assistant Keeper were . . . — — Map (db m217571) HM
Originally constructed in 1868 overlooking the Cape Canaveral beach. Due to shoreline erosion, the lighthouse was dismantled and moved 1 ½ miles inland in the early 1890s. In July 1894, the light was relit at the new location. — — Map (db m23522) HM
On May 21, 1838, Florida territorial delegate Charles Downing requested a lighthouse be built on Cape Canaveral. The first lighthouse completed in Jan. 1848 stood 65-feet tall, had a 55-foot tower and a 10-foot lantern room equipped with 15 lamps on . . . — — Map (db m64798) HM
The earliest evidence of human habitation on Cape Canaveral dates back about 6,000 years. Descendants of these first humans, the Ais, inhabited Cape Canaveral along with the nearby islands and the mainland.
There are 95 recorded sites within the . . . — — Map (db m217573) HM
Before modern construction a complex of six burial mounds occupied this location. They were built by the ancestors of the prehistoric Ais tribe, a group who occupied the Cape Canaveral area at the time of European contact. Based on pottery styles . . . — — Map (db m243353) HM
Vc = Ro √(g/Ro+h)
"… one of the most complex tasks ever presented to man in this country -- the achievement of manned flight in orbit around the earth." - John F. Kennedy
Thirty-Fifth President of the United States
This marker . . . — — Map (db m69963) HM
Port Canaveral is one of the busiest cruise ports in the world. Millions of passengers pass through the terminals every year on their way to relaxation and adventure. Some cruise liners are homeported here. For others, this is a port of call. . . . — — Map (db m164415) HM
Beginnings of Settlement
In the 1500s European explorers, slavers and missionaries first came to Cape Canaveral. Here they found a Native American population which had disappeared by 1730. The area remained sparsely populated until a . . . — — Map (db m217567) HM
The effort to launch Explorer I was led by the U.S. Army Ballistic Missile Agency (ABMA). Military personnel assigned to the ABMA from 1956 to approximately 1965 wore this patch on the left shoulder of their uniforms. Each color in the patch . . . — — Map (db m217865) HM
On this date the U.S. Army’s Ballistic Missile Agency launched the United States’ first
space craft—Explorer 1. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory and the State University of Iowa developed the satellite payload which was launched on an Army . . . — — Map (db m154079) HM
Port Canaveral began as a small oil and fishing port. Today, the first-class, deep-water harbor can serve import, export and other industries. Through the years, generations of fishing families have taken their daily catch to market. Some of the . . . — — Map (db m164411) HM
Titusville is the oldest community on the Indian River. After the Civil War, Titusville went on to spur the region’s transportation, business and shopping growth.
Buildings in the historic area date from 1895 to 1926, when the Florida Land . . . — — Map (db m164440) HM
A growing interest in space exploration in the late 1950s fueled the need for launch vehicles able to lift increasingly larger scientific payloads. Juno II was a modified Jupiter Intermediate Range Ballistic Missile (IRBM) with longer propellant . . . — — Map (db m217779) HM
Designed by the Army Ballistic Missile Agency (ABMA), the Jupiter missile was initially designated SM-78. Even though research and development of the Jupiter was performed by the ABMA, the Army was never able to deploy the missile. In 1955, the . . . — — Map (db m217780) HM
This building served as the control center for the two launch pads that made up Launch Complex 26. Between 1957 and 1963 was used to support the U.S. Army's Redstone, Jupiter, and Juno ballistic missile and launch vehicle programs. Explorer . . . — — Map (db m217582) HM
America's entry into the Space Race occurred on 31 January 1958 with the launch of Explorer I from Pad A of Launch Complex 26 (Pad 26A). It was boosted in orbit atop a Juno rocket as part of America's participation in the International . . . — — Map (db m217591) HM
One of the original buildings at Launch Complex 26, the Exhibit Hall was built as a pressurized gas storage facility. It was used for that purpose from 1957 through 1963 while the Complex was an active launch facility, supporting numerous . . . — — Map (db m217657) HM
Just as Kitty Hawk, North Carolina was the proving ground for the Wright Brothers, “the Cape” served the same purpose for America’s space program. Cape Canaveral Air Force Station is the world’s premier gateway to space, and has been the site of . . . — — Map (db m217783) HM
Dedicated to the living memory of the crew of the Apollo 1:
U.S.A.F Lt. Colonel Virgil I. Grissom
U.S.A.F. Lt. Colonel Edward H. White, II
U.S.N. Lt. Commander Roger B. Chaffee
They gave their lives in service to their country in the . . . — — Map (db m72912)
(side 1)
In 1955. President Dwight Eisenhower approved a plan to orbit a satellite during the International Geophysical Year, a period hailed as an unprecedented international effort involving scientists from 67 countries to advance . . . — — Map (db m217578) HM
There’s a strong military presence at the port. The Naval Ordnance Test Unit operates the Navy Port and ballistic missile submarines use the Trident Turning Basin for maintenance.
The U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. Air Force and Military Sealift . . . — — Map (db m164399) HM
Prime Contractor: North American Aviation
Type: Intercontinental Guided Missile
The Navaho was a rocket-launched, air breathing, long-range intercontinental guided missile. The Navaho was considered to have the range, accuracy, and . . . — — Map (db m164869) HM WM
1964 – First cruise ship visit, S/S Yarmouth
1980 – First Queen Elizabeth II visit
1982 – First Cruises to Nowhere, S/S Scandinavian Seas
1984 – First homeported ship, Premier Cruise Lines S/S . . . — — Map (db m59645) HM
1953 – Commercial fishing began
1954 – First oil imported for Central Florida power plants
1955 – First merchant ship, S/S Mormac Spruce arrived
1962 – First bulk cement silos built
1966 – First . . . — — Map (db m59647) HM
1961 – Freedom 7, First space capsule recovered through the Port
1989 – Foreign Trade Zone (FTZ) 136 activated
1989 – First quadramodal connection between sea, land, air and space
1992 – SPACEHAB, First FTZ . . . — — Map (db m59648) HM
North Side Development
1971 – Courageous, First Coast Guard Cutter, arrived
1974 – First warehouse built
2000 – Container Yard completed
South Side Development
1965 – First refrigerated . . . — — Map (db m59665) HM
1968 – Jetty Park Opened
1990 – Central Park (renamed Freddie Patrick Park) opened
1992 – First Florida deepwater port to develop an Inlet Management Plan
1995 – Malcolm E. McLouth Fishing Pier dedicated
1995 . . . — — Map (db m59666) HM
Port dedicated by U.S. Senator Spessard L. Holland. Serving on the Canaveral Port Authority Board of Commissioners: Colonel Noah Butt, Chairman; David S. Nisbet; L.M. Carpenter; A.A. Dunn and G.W. Laycock. N.M. Argabrite, Secretary. Barbara . . . — — Map (db m59729) HM
The Redstone missile was developed by a team led by Dr. Werner von Braun, who had been working for the U.S. Army at Fort Bliss, Texas, following World War II. In 1950 the team was transferred to Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, Alabama, where the . . . — — Map (db m217777) HM
Florida’s largest lock connects the ocean to the Banana River. Ships, fishing and pleasure boats, barges and even space vehicles use Canaveral Lock to access the Port. Gates on the extra-wide lock open to adjust water levels. This ensures . . . — — Map (db m164418) HM