Every American Astronaut Has Launched From Here

Every human being sent into space by the United States has launched from Florida. Kennedy Space Center at Cape Canaveral has been the departure point for the Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo programs, the Space Shuttle, and today SpaceX's crewed missions to the International Space Station. In one of nature's stranger contrasts, the launch complex sits on a barrier island shared with the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, meaning rockets regularly lift off over nesting bald eagles, sea turtles, and manatees.