February and May 2012 mark two very special months for NASA’s Kennedy Space Center Visitor’s Complex as two milestones will be celebrated: The 50th Anniversary of NASA’s John F. Kennedy’s Space Center and Americans in Orbit.
On February 20, 1962, launching aboard a Mercury-Atlas rocket in the Freedom 7 capsule, John Glenn became the first American to orbit the Earth. Glenn circled the Earth three times, followed by a successful splashdown in the Atlantic Ocean. While Alan Shepard had already become the first American into space by 1961, Glenn became the first American into orbit.
Three months later on May 24, 1962, aboard a Mercury-Atlas rocket in the Aurora 7 capsule, Scott Carpenter successfully replicated John Glenn's flight. Carpenter was able to orbit Earth three times and land in the Atlantic Ocean just as Glenn did. Carpenter's flight confirmed the capabilities of the spacecraft and encouraged possibilities of future space exploration.
It was just two months following July 1, 1962 that the John F. Kennedy Space Center was officially acknowledged as an operating spaceflight space center under the name Launch Operations Center and the name changed to John F. Kennedy in honor of the president and his vision of Americans visiting the moon.
For fifty years, John F. Kennedy Space Center has been the gateway to space. From carrying astronauts into space aboard rockets and space shuttles, launching space exploration devices and constructing the International Space Station, to building the vision and the future, the journey to space begins and ends with Kennedy Space Center.
Did you miss the last launch? View past launch videos and photos at the NASA site. Also, those interested in past, present or future missions, or for those interested in learning more about the exploration history or to find out how aviation and space exploration have improved life for humans on Earth and in space, information and schedules are available on the NASA mission site.
Stay tuned to P.K.’s Examiner Events for updates and more on NASA milestones and events.
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Where there's science, there's opportunity...and sometimes a scholarship opportunity
With science and education playing such major roles in the future of our children I felt it appropriate to also mention that the Astronaut Scholarship Foundation offers scholarships for outstanding students (after all, it’s all about opportunity). If you’re a student or educator, or know someone who'd be interested in the Astronaut Scholarship Foundation, please visit their site to learn more or better yet, forward this article along to them.
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