History of Space and Aeronautics in Florida.         

It was just a half-century ago, on July 24,1950, that the first rocket launch took place from what is now called Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. During the 1950s, the Cape Canaveral area developed into the nation’s center for missile testing and development. As the United States reacted to the Soviet Union’s successful launch of the satellite Sputnik 1 in 1957, activities at the Cape accelerated dramatically. On January 31, 1958, Explorer 1 was launched into orbit from the Cape as America’s first satellite.

A succession of NASA space launch and exploration programs dominated activities at the Cape over the next few decades.

Project Mercury, with six manned missions between 1961 and 1963, proved that a human could be launched into space, survive, and safely return to Earth.

Project Gemini, with 10 two-man missions in 1965 and 1966, provided practice and affirmation that NASA had learned what it needed for a Moon landing mission to succeed.

Project Apollo, with 11 manned flights from 1968 through 1972, allowed 12 men to walk on the Moon.

As these programs grew, so too did the Cape’s international recognition as a space launch site and the economic value of this industry to Florida. The Cape’s footprint expanded as well. In building a launch site for Apollo, NASA and the Federal government crossed the Banana River from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station to expand on Merritt Island, establishing what is now called the John F. Kennedy Space Center (KSC).

The Nation’s space priorities shifted once the goal of a Moon mission was accomplished.  Although three Skylab missions and a diplomatic Apollo Soyuz Test Project kept workers at the Cape busy from 1973 to 1975, a gap in spaceflight could not be avoided. Florida demonstrated its resilience, however, and refocused on the new Federal priority: creating a Space Shuttle – a reusable, winged spacecraft that could take humans into and out of Earth orbit. Florida remained the launch site and a runway was added to KSC to support Shuttle landings.

Following the first Shuttle launch in April 1981, the nation adopted a policy of launching all satellites – civilian, scientific, commercial, and military – on the Shuttle. This policy changed following the tragic explosion during the launch of the Shuttle Challenger on January 28, 1986, which killed seven astronauts. As engineering and management flaws were identified and fixed, the nation determined that astronauts’ lives no longer would be risked placing commercial satellites into orbit.

A new commercial launch industry was born and Florida immediately found itself competing with the European commercial launch firm Arianespace, which launches Ariane rockets from French Guiana in South America. In response, then-Governor Bob Martinez created the Governor’s Commission on Space in May 1987. The Commission’s report resulted in formation of the Spaceport Florida Authority, which is now known as the Florida Space Authority.

The Shuttle program returned to flight in September 1988 and for the next 15 years NASA, the Air Force, and the commercial launch industry made significant advances within each of their space programs, including early assembly of the International Space Station. As the nation’s premier space launch site, Florida played a pivotal role in all of these programs.

On February 1, 2003, the Shuttle Columbia burned up during reentry, killing seven astronauts. An additional set of engineering and management flaws were identified and addressed, and Florida’s space industry adapted yet again.

Following this disaster, the White House, in 2004, announced a new policy for NASA known as the Vision for Space Exploration. The Vision calls for NASA to continue flying the Space Shuttle until 2010 and complete the assembly of the International Space Station.  In the meantime, a new Crew Exploration Vehicle (CEV) will be built to replace the Shuttle. The CEV will be used to return humans to the Moon by 2018 and eventually continue on to Mars and beyond in the decades to come.

The opportunities and challenges the Vision brings to Florida’s space community are profound.  There will be changes in the workforce as new rockets are introduced and jobs currently supporting the Shuttle may no longer be needed. However, new commercial operations in support of the Vision could be created and based in Florida.

At the same time, the nation is seeing the birth and early growth of a new space tourism industry that, like the Vision, could mean much for Florida. Space tourism began with wealthy individuals buying tickets on Russian rockets for a ride to the International Space Station, Dennis Tito being the first in 2001. Within the United States, the Ansari X-Prize was awarded in 2004 to the Space Ship One team that flew a pair of suborbital missions within a week over the Mojave Desert in California. Companies such as Virgin Galactic envision launching thousands of space tourists on suborbital jaunts each year.