Florida

It was September 12, 1962, when Pres. John F. Kennedy delivered a speech at Rice University before nearly 50,000 people. By that time, America had launched but four men into space--the suborbital flights of Alan Shepard and Gus Grissom and the nearly identical three-orbit journeys of John Glenn and Scott Carpenter. Buoyed by the success of those missions and cognizant of the danger that lay ahead, the president rearticulated his vision and reissued his challenge to reach the moon before 1970. "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. Because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills." The assassination of President Kennedy, in the words of flight director Gene Kranz, turned his vision into a "quest to do it and do it in the time frame he allotted." On July 20, 1969, Neil Armstrong stepped off the ladder of the lunar module known as Eagle, taking "one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind."

From Bumper V-2 rocket launches in 1950 to the launch of the Orion spacecraft atop a Delta IV rocket in 2014, NASA's Kennedy Space Center has served as the nation's portal to outer space for over 60 years. Images of Modern America: NASA Kennedy Space Center provides a fascinating look at the evolution of spacecraft technology and vintage images of Florida's scenic Merritt Island, known as the "Space Coast." This photographic history of the nation's premier spaceport looks back at the United States' glorious past in space exploration and ahead to its future.

From the January 1958 launch of the first American satellite to the creation of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration by President Eisenhower just a few months later, from the heated space race of the Cold War era to the heroes of shuttle launches, the United States has been on the leading edge of space exploration and technology. Initially developed from one of Adolph Hitler's most feared weapons, the V2 rocket, the space program has accomplished much in just a few short decades. The first American manned space flight, which put astronaut Alan Shepard into space, was launched in 1961; in 1965, Edward White became the first American to walk in space--for a total of 21 minutes. In 1969, Neil Armstrong uttered those now-famous words as he became the first human to walk on the Moon. These and many other achievements, once considered unimaginable, have inspired and amazed the American people and engaged our brightest scientific minds.

Florida's Space Coast and its explosion into the 20th century thrust these beach towns into the modern age and paved the way for America's space exploration.

Florida's Space Coast is an area that got its name from one of the most exciting times in United States history. Settlers were living in Brevard County as far back as the 1800s, and even after World War II, it was still a quiet place to live. Cities and beach towns along 74 miles of Atlantic Ocean coastline were thrust into the modern age in the early 1950s, when rockets began lighting up the skies above them. The space race had begun, the nation would set a path to put men on the moon, and Florida would become the backdrop for this thrilling chapter of American history. The area's population surged with over 200,000 new residents, and things would never be the same. It was a time when people risked their lives for space exploration, and a community came together to make it happen.