Kennedy Space Center is a large complex of buildings and structures designed to launch various spacecraft and further flight control. This center belongs to the US national space agency - NASA. We will talk about the history of the creation of the center, its work and much more in this article.
History of Creation
Kennedy Space Center (Florida) began its history in 1948, after the Banana River Air Force Base, which was located on the island of Merritt Island, began testing rocket launches. At that time, the United States had not yet created its own rockets, so they launched captured German rockets called V-2s. No one lived on this island, and the nearby ocean made this area an ideal place to conduct secret tests.
In 1951, the air base was expanded and a center was created at Cape Canaveral, after which they began to test missiles of their own production here. In 1961, the US government challenges scientists to send a man toMoon no later than 1970. After that, a large-scale expansion of the center at Cape Canaveral begins. The National Space Agency has purchased more than 570 km2 of land from the State of Florida and set up a rocket launch center. After the assassination of President Kennedy in 1963, the entire complex was renamed the Kennedy Space Center.
Description of the center
As of 2008, more than 13,500 specialists of various profiles are constantly working in the center. There is a complex for tourists at the Kennedy Space Center, which is visited by more than 10 thousand people every year. There are also bus tours to see most of the buildings in the space complex.
Today, about 10% of the center works for its intended purpose, and the rest of the area is a national nature reserve. An interesting fact: more lightning occurs at the center than anywhere else in North America. Because of this, the Kennedy Space Center and NASA (the national space agency) are forced to spend huge amounts of money to prevent lightning strikes from hitting numerous objects, especially during spacecraft launches.
Lunar project
The project to fly to the moon was divided into three phases, which were called: "Mercury", "Gemini" and "Apollo". In the Lunar program, several main goals were identified:
- Putting a spacecraft with one person on board into orbit and flying around the Earth.
- Observation and study of the human body in weightlessnessand his ability to work in it.
- Development of technology for returning a spacecraft to Earth from orbit.
At the Kennedy Space Center, work on the Lunar program began in late 1957. As a launch vehicle, it was decided to use a new model - "Atlas" (type "Mercury"). It carried the main payload of the first Mercury program into orbit.
The first astronaut to fly the Atlas into space in February 1962 was John Glenn. Kennedy Space Center still had its old name when the Mercury program was underway.
Continuation of the project
The second stage of the Lunar program - "Gemini" - was carried out on spacecraft of the same series, which were much better in their technical characteristics than the "Mercury" type. The Gemini ships had extended autonomous flight time and already had two crew members. The technique and methods of rendezvous were worked out, as well as docking, which was carried out for the first time. Between 1965 and 1966, the Kennedy Space Center carried out ten manned flights.
For the implementation of the third stage - "Apollo" - a new launch complex No. 39 was built. It contains two sites for launching spacecraft, serving their buildings and a transport route through which the spacecraft with all its components is delivered to the place launch. During the Apollo phase of the Lunar program, 13 launches were carried out, the ultimate goalhas been reached.
Center in the 21st century
Until mid-2011, Kennedy Space Center was the launch site for the Space Shuttle. These ships returned from space, landing on a special runway 4.6 km long. With their help, a number of space programs were carried out and many experiments were carried out in weightlessness. However, this program was closed due to numerous emergency situations and shuttle disasters. In total, more than 30 flights were made on ships of this type.
In the fall of 2004, the space center was heavily damaged by Hurricane Francis. The building and structures serving the launch pad were severely damaged. Over 3,700 m2 of the building was damaged, making launches impossible. The equipment inside was flooded with water and became unusable. A year later, the center was hit again by Hurricane Wilma. Its gradual recovery began, and the launches were moved to California, to a base in Paldale.
Center currently
After the cessation of launches from the Kennedy Space Center, the question arose about its continued existence. Discussions have begun on the use of the center by private space companies.
In April 2014, NASA and SpaceX signed an agreement under which SpaceX leases part of the center for its needs for 20 years. After that, the modernization of the launch pad for launching Falcon-type missiles began. Withwith their help, in 2018 it is planned to launch the Dragon V-2 private spacecraft into orbit. The second launch pad is being upgraded and prepared for the launch of the Orion spacecraft using the SLS launch vehicle. A test launch of this ship is also scheduled for 2018.
Today, NASA employees cannot send astronauts into space themselves, so they use the help provided by Russia. Together with cosmonauts from different countries, American astronauts are sent into space from the Vostochny cosmodrome, located in Russia.
Currently, numerous excursions are held on the territory of the center, including those to the protected area. If desired, you can buy a full tour to the Kennedy Space Center. Complex address: USA, Florida, 32899. The center is open from 9 am to 6 pm. Here you can learn many interesting facts from the history of the center itself and the entire American cosmonautics.
