On July 24, 1950, the first rocket was launched from Cape Canaveral Air Force Base. The base is located in Broward County, Florida.
It was one of the best places in the continental United States for this purpose. Because it allowed launch over the Atlantic Ocean and is closer to the equator than anywhere else in the United States, it allowed rockets to take advantage of the Earth’s rotation to boost their speed.
Bomber-2 was an experimental, two-stage missile that could fly up to 250 miles above the ground. This missile base belonged to V-2, on top of which there was a WAC Corporal missile, and it was launched under the guidance of General Electric Company.
The purpose of this mission was to test new rocket technologies and collect data on the Earth’s upper atmosphere.
Cape Canaveral currently has three active launch pads that are connected to each other. These three platforms are operated by private industries for military and civilian launches.
The pioneers of American space exploration have been launched from this base. Among them, we can mention the first astronaut of the United States, the first two-man spacecraft, the two Voyager spacecraft and all the satellites and spacecraft that were launched for the first time to any of the planets of the solar system. The two important Gemini and Apollo programs also performed all their launches from this base.
With SpaceX’s increased use of the leased launch pad, Air Force Launch Support Operations on the Cape plans launches in advance and SpaceX reserves them for the future.
Parts of this base have been designated as a National Historic Landmark due to their association with the early years of the US space program. Thor, Jupiter, Atlas, Redstone and Pershing missiles were all tested at this location.
