Florida Space Coast

Space Coast From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jump to navigationJump to search Not to be confused with Space Ghost. Location of Florida's Space Coast Florida's Space Coast surrounding Merritt Island, seen from the International Space Station The Space Coast is a region in the U.S. state of Florida around the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) and Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. All of NASA-launched crewed spaceflights (running from Project Mercury in 1961 to and from the end of the Space Shuttle program in 2011) have departed from either KSC or Cape Canaveral. The Air Force Station has also launched unmanned military and civilian rockets. Cities in the area include Titusville, Cocoa, Rockledge, Cape Canaveral, Merritt Island (unincorporated), Cocoa Beach, Melbourne, Indialantic, Palm Bay, and Viera (unincorporated). Most of the area lies within Brevard County. It is bounded on the south by the Treasure Coast, on the west and north by Central Florida (and is economically tied to that region), and on the east by the Atlantic Ocean. One reason rockets are launched in Florida has to do with the Earth's rotation. The Earth rotates most quickly at the equator, and to take advantage of this, in adding to the orbital velocity of the rocket, it is most beneficial to launch from a southerly location (near the equator). In addition, to take advantage of the direction of rotation of the planet, launching from a location on an easterly coast where there is no inhabited population where debris would land in an emergency would be ideal for both the safety of the people on the ground and for fuel efficiency of the rocket. The only locations in the United States capable of this are on the east coasts of Florida, Texas, and Puerto Rico, but given the high population densities in coastal Texas, South Florida, and Puerto Rico, the Space Coast is often considered the best location when all factors are taken into account.[citation needed] Contents 1 Space-named landmarks (outside KSC and Cape Canaveral Air Force Station) 2 Telephone area code 3 Tourism 4 See also 5 Notes 6 References Space-named landmarks (outside KSC and Cape Canaveral Air Force Station) Many places near the Cape are named for subjects relating to the US space program including vehicles, astronauts, and the spaceport itself. Alan Shepard Park, Cocoa Beach[citation needed] Apollo Boulevard, Melbourne[citation needed] Apollo Elementary School, Titusville[1] Armstrong Drive, Titusville[citation needed] Astronaut Boulevard, Cape Canaveral[citation needed] Astronaut High School, Titusville Atlantis Elementary School, Port St. John[2] Bayside High School, Palm Bay Challenger 7 Elementary School, Port St. John[citation needed] Challenger Memorial Parkway, (State Road 407), Titusville Chaffee Drive, Titusville Christa McAuliffe drawbridge, Merritt Island[citation needed] Christa McAuliffe Elementary School, Palm Bay[citation needed] Columbia Boulevard (State Road 405), Titusville Columbia Elementary School, Palm Bay[citation needed] Columbia Village, Melbourne (Florida Institute of Technology) Discovery Elementary School, Palm Bay[3] Endeavour Elementary Magnet school, Cocoa[4] Enterprise Elementary School, Cocoa Freedom 7 Elementary School, Cocoa Beach Gemini Elementary School, Melbourne Beach[5] Grissom Parkway, Cocoa I Dream Of Jeannie Drive, Cocoa Beach John F. Kennedy Middle School, Rockledge Jupiter Boulevard, Palm Bay Kennedy Point Park, Titusville MILA Elementary School, Merritt Island[6] (an abbreviation for "Merritt Island Launch Area")[7] Minutemen Causeway, Cocoa Beach NASA Boulevard (State Road 508), Melbourne Ronald McNair Middle Magnet School, Rockledge Satellite Beach, Florida Satellite Boulevard, Cocoa[citation needed] Satellite High School, Satellite Beach Shepard Drive, Titusville[citation needed] Space Coast Jr./Sr. High School Space Coast Stadium, Viera, Florida Space Coast Surge, a member of the Florida Winter Baseball League played out of Cocoa in 2009[8] Space View Park, Titusville[citation needed] White Drive, Titusville Telephone area code When the region became too heavily populated to be served by only one area code, a local resident Robert Osband (aka Richard Cheshire)[9] discovered that area code 321 was not assigned to any other territory (though it was being considered for the suburban Chicago area).[notes 1] If each number is pronounced individually—"3, 2, 1"—the pronunciation resembles the countdown before liftoff; thus, the resident petitioned for the code to be assigned to the Space Coast region. His efforts were popular among local residents and resulted in success; the new code officially became effective on November 1, 1999.[10][11] Tourism [icon] This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (July 2020) The local area is popular with visitors to watch rocket launches in person. Over 100,000 people are believed to have been present in February 2018 for the Falcon Heavy test flight.[12]