(Music)
Launch Commentator: 10, 9, ignition sequence start, six...
George Diller/Narrator: A rich history.
President John F. Kennedy: We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things,
not because they are easy, but because they are hard.
Astronaut Neil Armstrong: That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.
A promising future.
Launch Commentator: We have liftoff of the Falcon 9. Stage 1.
George Diller/Narrator: A work force with legendary talent... at a launch complex like no other.
Launch Commentator: And liftoff of space shuttle Discovery!
George Diller/Narrator: This is NASA's Kennedy Space Center.
The drive to explore is a constant. Technology advances -- and missions change.
Kennedy Space Center is propelled today by the same strengths that have made it the
nation's most celebrated launch complex for nearly 50 years.
Hundreds of astronauts and robotic explorers have thundered away from this coastline,
headed for destinations in low Earth orbit, across our solar system and
into the reaches of deep space.
Our skilled team and ground processing capabilities are second to none.
As the home base of NASA's Launch Services Program, we safely prepare, integrate and
launch a wide variety of rockets and state-of-the-art spacecraft.
Another important Kennedy role is readying International Space Station payloads for flight.
Orbiting 220 miles above Earth, the station serves as a national laboratory
and as a testbed for long-duration missions that will carry humans far beyond our planet.
We're modernizing the center to create an adaptable, multipurpose spaceport...
accommodating an array of advanced spacecraft and new launch vehicles, and
giving a boost to the commercial space industry and our economy.
And since Kennedy shares land with the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge,
we're focusing on long-term sustainability, and protecting the delicate balance
between technology and the environment.
A great example is the new Propellants North Administrative and Maintenance Facility,
which generates more energy than it consumes.
The nation is turning a page, beginning a new chapter in spaceflight as the space shuttle
flies into the pages of history after three decades of discoveries.
STS-133 Commander Steve Lindsey: And Houston, Discovery. For the final time, wheelstop.
George Diller/Narrator: Throughout history, exploration has remained an ever-changing adventure.
But the need to reach beyond our boundaries is timeless.
And Kennedy Space Center is paving the way as the future unfolds.
Kennedy Space Center. The future starts here.