Discovery STS-133 on launch pad 39A preparing for launch
It is quite interesting when you talk to people about Florida’s Space Coast. Cape Canaveral and Kennedy Space Center are the two main names that are used interchangeably to reference the area. There are in fact two separate authorities that run the two different space complexes.
The Kennedy Space Center is run by NASA and has the Space Shuttle Launch pads and processing on its property. KSC also is home to the KSC Visitor Center from where the tours of both KSC and CCAFS originate. Currently there are two rocket launching sites at Kennedy Space Center.
The Cape Canaveral Air Force Station is where the majority of the current and historic rocket launch pads are located. In fact the CCAFS has more active rocket launching complexes the KSC. Although some of the early missile testing was done in White Sands, New Mexico the race to space took place at CCAFS, with Alan Shepard launching into space from SLC-5 on the base.
