Kennedy Space Center

NASA's Kennedy Space Center (KSC) is America's premier space launch and processing facility, established in 1962 on Merritt Island, Florida — adjacent to Cape Canaveral — designated as NASA's primary center for launch and landing operations, spacecraft processing, and launch vehicle integration for both government and commercial missions.

KSC's iconic Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB), constructed for the Apollo program and standing 160 meters tall, served as the assembly facility for Saturn V rockets and later Space Shuttle stacks. Launch Complex 39A hosted every crewed Apollo mission including the historic Apollo 11 liftoff in July 1969, and later all Space Shuttle missions before being leased to SpaceX — which now operates it for Falcon 9, Falcon Heavy, and Starship test and launch campaigns. Launch Complex 39B was modified for NASA's Space Launch System (SLS) rocket, which launched Artemis I in November 2022 — the first uncrewed Artemis lunar test mission.

Commercial operators beyond SpaceX also launch from adjacent Cape Canaveral Space Force Station: United Launch Alliance from SLC-41 (Atlas V and Vulcan Centaur) and SLC-37 (Delta IV Heavy until retirement), and multiple smallsat providers from SLC-46. KSC hosts Artemis astronaut mission training facilities, the Operations and Checkout Building for Orion crew module preparation and crew equipment stowage, the Launch Control Center firing rooms (updated for SLS digital systems from their Apollo-era heritage), and extensive cryogenic liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen propellant infrastructure supporting the full government and commercial launch cadence from the Cape Canaveral spaceport complex.