WEBVTT

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Intro music.

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For over half a century, Kennedy Space Center has been the crown jewel of American spaceflight.

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From the first flights of experimental rockets to the mighty roar of today's Space Shuttle,

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this NASA Center remains a national landmark and global launch leader.

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Kennedy Space Center is part of the "Cape Canaveral Spaceport", which also includes the adjacent Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.

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Launches from the facility first began with the flight of a modified V-2 rocket on July 24, 1950.

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Thirteen years later, the John F. Kennedy Space Center was created in honor of the late President and his quest to reach the moon.

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"I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out,

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of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to the Earth."

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On July 16 1969, the President's vision was realized as Apollo 11 lifted off from launch pad 39A and landed on the Moon only four days later.

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"That's one small step for man; one giant leap for mankind."

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Today, Kennedy Space Center continues to be NASA's primary launch center, earning itself the rightful title of "America's Spaceport."

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Whether sending robotic rovers to Mars or hauling modules to the International Space Station,

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Kennedy is the point of departure for many of NASA's greatest missions.

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Most of NASA's spacecraft leave aboard traditional rockets launched from the facility's shores.

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From launch pads scattered around the Spaceport, Delta and Atlas rockets leap from their gantries,

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carrying innovative spacecraft into orbit and beyond.

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The Center is also the final stop for modules and equipment bound for the International Space Station.

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Prior to their trips into orbit, Space Station components are checked-out and prepped for launch at the Center's Space Station Processing Facility.

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Once ready for flight, the modules are carried to the Space Station aboard the famed Space Shuttles.

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The Center's flagship launch vehicle, the Space Shuttle is the world's first and only reusable spacecraft.

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Kennedy Space Center is the home base for the Shuttle fleet and responsible for launching, landing and maintaining these technological marvels.

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For as long as human's have been reaching into space, Kennedy Space Center has been at the forefront of the cosmic frontier.

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Leondardo DaVinci said, "Once you have flown, you will walk the earth with your eyes turned skyward, for there you have been, there you long to return."

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Building on it's historic past, Kennedy Space Center continues this march into the heavens,

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launching our most ambitious missions to the Moon, Mars, and beyond.

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