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Cape Canaveral is a Headland in Brevard County, Florida , United States , near the center of that state's Atlantic coast at and is also 45 minutes East of Orlando by car. It sits due east of Merritt Island , separated from it by the Banana River . It is part of a region known as the Space Coast , and is the site of the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station . Since many United States Spacecraft are launched from the Kennedy Space Center on nearby Merritt Island the term "Cape Canaveral" or "Canaveral" is often erroneously used to refer to as the launch site of manned spacecraft. Other features of the cape include Cape Canaveral Lighthouse and Port Canaveral . The city of Cape Canaveral is a few miles south of the cape. Mosquito Lagoon , The Indian River , Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge and Canaveral National Seashore are also features of this area. HISTORY For more, see Timeline Cape Canaveral . The 1890 graduating class of Harvard University started a gun club called the "Canaveral Club" at the Cape. This was founded by C.B. Horton of Boston and George H. Reed. A number of distinguished visitors including presidents Grover Cleveland and Benjamin Harrison were reported to have stayed here. In the 1920s the grand building fell in disrepair and later burned to the ground. In the 1900s several communities sprang-up in Cape Canaveral. The area was predominately a farming and fishing community. One community was called Artesia and records indicate the following residents and their occupations:
In the 1930s a community of wealthy journalists started a community called "Journalista" which is now called "Avon by the Sea". The Brossier brothers built houses in this area and started a publication entitled the Evening Star Reporter that was the forerunner of the Orlando Sentinel . The first rocket launch from the Cape was Bumper 8 from Launch Pad 3 on 24 July , 1950 . On February 6 , 1959 the first successful test firing of a Titan Intercontinental Ballistic Missile was accomplished here. All manned U.S. government ( NASA ) Spaceflight s have launched from Kennedy Space Center on nearby Merritt Island. Cape Canaveral was chosen for rocket launches to take advantage of the earth's Rotation . The Linear Velocity of the Earth's surface is greatest towards the Equator ; the relatively southerly location of the Cape allows rockets to take advantage of this by launching eastward, in the same direction as the earth's rotation. It is also highly desirable to have the downrange area sparsely populated, in case of accidents; an ocean is ideal for this. Although the United States has sites closer to the equator with expanses of ocean to the east of them (e.g. Hawaii , Puerto Rico ), the east coast of Florida has substantial logistical advantages over these island locations. The tip of the cape is at LC-46 in Cape Canaveral Air Force Station . NAME CHANGES From 1963 to 1973 it was called Cape Kennedy. President John F. Kennedy was an enthusiastic backer of the space program, and after his assassination in 1963 , his widow Jacqueline Kennedy suggested to President Lyndon Johnson that renaming the Cape Canaveral facility would be an appropriate memorial. However, Johnson recommended the renaming not just of the facility, but of the entire cape. Accordingly, Cape Canaveral Was Renamed Cape Kennedy. Although the name change was approved by the United States Board On Geographic Names of the Interior Department in 1964 , it was not popular in Florida , especially in the ''city'' of Cape Canaveral, Florida . In 1973 the state passed a law restoring the former 400-year-old name, and the Board went along. The Kennedy Family issued a letter stating they "understood the decision"; Jacqueline Kennedy also stated if she had known that the Canaveral name had existed for 400 years, she never would have supported changing the name of the Cape. The Space Center itself retains the "Kennedy" name. NAME ORIGIN The name "Canaveral" ''(Cañaveral'' in Spanish ) was given to the area by Spanish explorers. It literally means " Canebrake ". The name can be interpreted as "Cape of Canes". TRIVIA '' episode " Deep Space Homer "]] In '' The Simpsons '' episode " Deep Space Homer ", a fictitious sign shows its pre-Canaveral name as Cape Arbuckle . In another episode, Ned Flanders greets Homer, with whom he is competing via craft rocket, "Greetings from Neddidy Space Center on Cape Flandaveral." Made in 1964, but set in 2064, cult British TV series '' Thunderbirds '' refers to Cape Kennedy. The "Cape Kennedy" name shows up in some 1960s TV shows, at least in episodes of "Flipper" and " I Dream Of Jeannie ", both of which were set on the Space Coast. The name is also mentioned in the 1967 film " The Reluctant Astronaut ". |
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