n the summer of 1966, America’s space program raced forward with Gemini flights in Earth orbit while new facilities were built to meet President John F. Kennedy’s goal of landing a man on the Moon. During that time, NASA provided an opportunity to view work going on inside the gates of the agency’s Kennedy Space Center. In years to come, the visitor complex became one of the premier attractions in Florida.
On Aug. 14, 2017, a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft was launched atop a Falcon 9 rocket from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. It was a commercial resupply mission delivering supplies to the International Space Station. Four days later, the agency’s Tracking and Data Relay Satellite-M lifted off on a United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V from Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
On Sept. 16, 2021, SpaceX launched its Inspiration4 mission with four civilian crewmembers. It was the company’s first fully private flight sending humans to orbit. It was an example of NASA’s Kennedy Space Center serving as a premier multi-user spaceport, supporting an ever-expanding commercial industry, providing transportation to space for both people and cargo.
A SpaceX Dragon cargo spacecraft lifts off atop a Falcon 9 rocket from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station at 11:50 p.m. EST on March 6, 2020. The Dragon spacecraft will deliver more than 4,300 pounds of NASA cargo and science investigations to the International Space Station.
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket has lifted off from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station carrying a Dragon spacecraft on the company’s 19th Commercial Resupply Services mission to the International Space Station.