Technology & Engineering

The world's first naval aeronautical station, Naval Air Station Pensacola is a dynamic and active station today.

A sign at the gate of Naval Air Station Pensacola (NASP) welcomes visitors to "The Cradle of Naval Aviation" - and, indeed it is. It came into being when the USS Mississippi (BB-23) arrived in Pensacola on January 20, 1914, with seven aircraft, nine officers, and 23 men. Today, NASP hosts several schools and several branches of the US military. It is also the home of the Navy's Flight Demonstration Squadron, the Blue Angels, as well as the renowned National Naval Aviation Museum (NNAM), which displays more than 100 years of naval aviation, from a replica Curtiss hydroplane to the F-14 Tomcat.

Rare photographs document the work that saw John F. Kennedy's dream of making it to the moon come true.

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.

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.

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.

Naval Air Station Jacksonville was commissioned on October 15, 1940, and has trained tens of thousands of naval aviators throughout its long history.

Located along the banks of the St. Johns River, the site and the weather conditions make the base a premier aviation facility. Initially conducting primary and seaplane training, it expanded to training pilots in almost every type of aircraft the Navy has flown. The Navy's elite precision aviators, the Blue Angels, were formed at the base in 1946. Today, as a master anti submarine base, it remains home to 15 aviation squadrons; some 115 tenant commands and almost 20,000 military, civilian, and contract employees work at the station daily.

Join author Evelyn L. Wheeler as she recounts the origins and  history of the Navy's Flight Demonstration Team: The Blue Angels.

Every year, more than 11 million people attend air shows that feature the Blue Angels, who call Pensacola, Florida, their home. The Navy's Flight Demonstration Team, with its six gleaming blue-and-gold F/A-18 Hornets, never fails to thrill the crowds. Flying from heights of over 15,000 feet and dropping as low as 50 feet, the shows are nonstop, high-energy, heart-stopping excitement. The Blue Angels were established in 1946 by Adm. Chester W. Nimitz to showcase the pride and professionalism of the United States Navy and Marine Corps by inspiring a culture of excellence and service to country through flight demonstrations and community outreach. The Blue Angels pilots and flight crew visit 50,000 people a year in schools, hospitals, and other community events, in addition to performing for those who attend their air shows.

Melbourne was a quiet coastal town of 157 people on Florida's Indian River lagoon. Farming, ranching, fishing, and related trades supported the local economy. Melbourne entered the industrial age in 1912, when the Union Cypress Company began manufacturing lumber from the private cypress and pine holdings of George W. Hopkins at Deer Park. This timber had a 1911 market value of over $2 million. Good employment and a local source of lumber brought development, and the company-owned mill town of Hopkins was eventually annexed by Melbourne. The company provided Melbourne's first electricity and out-patient hospital. The Union Cypress Railway provided the first direct route to Florida's interior across the "impenetrable" St. Johns River and marsh, saving over 100 miles and countless hours of back-road travel via Enterprise, which was 80 miles to the north. It opened the vast St. Johns prairie lands for settlement and carried much of the regional commerce.

With this powerful, evocative new book, St. Petersburg residents Jon Wilson and Rosalie Peck present an informative narrative that explores the history of St. Petersburg, Florida's most vibrant African American neighborhood: 22nd Street South or the deuces.

Throughout the city's history, no other area has personified strength for the African American community like this segregation-era thoroughfare. A haven during the brutal Jim Crow years, 22nd Street South was a place where prominent businessmen and community leaders were the role models and residents and neighbors looked out for one another. The close-knit community encouraged strong, positive values even as its members were treated as second-class citizens in the wider world. Authors Wilson and Peck tell the story of this unique district and how its people and events contributed to and helped to shape the history of St. Petersburg in the context of the greater South and the Civil Rights Movement.

Mystery surrounds the origins of Orlando's name, but the most probable explanation for its moniker dates back to the exploits of Orlando Reeves. While guarding Central Florida forts against Native American attacks, Reeves was alarmed in the middle of the night. A log rolled toward Reeves in the darkness, and he knew it disguised movement by an opponent. After firing his gun to awaken his fellow soldiers, he was bombarded by arrows, which resulted in his death. Orlando's name was bestowed upon a local post office in 1857 and then on the city incorporated in 1875. Just like the brave solider for whom the city was named, firefighters of Orlando boldly risk their lives for the welfare of others. This volume commemorates those men and women and traces a rich history from 1883, when a devastating fire inspired William C. Sherman to start a volunteer fire company, to today.

During World War II, the U.S. Merchant Marines suffered the highest percentage of casualties, although it was the second smallest service. The young maritime servicemen knew these realities because they were trained to survive an enemy attack and keep their ships moving regardless of the cargo. For 25,000 merchant seamen, the journey began in St. Petersburg, Florida, selected as a training site for its comfortable climate and strong relationship with the U.S. Coast Guard. The U.S. Maritime Training Station was an economic shot in the arm that saved St. Petersburg from the
extended hardships of the Great Depression's later years. Local merchants such as Bell Bakeries, the Swift and Company, and the Frazier Brothers routinely delivered bread, vegetables, and fruits to the station; as World War
II reached a fever pitch, local hotels, such as the Vinoy and the Soreno, served as boarding houses for the maritime service.