Space Coast

Florida's Space Coast surrounding Merritt Island, seen from the International Space Station

The Space Coast is a region in the U.S. state of Florida around Kennedy Space Center (KSC) and Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. All of NASA-launched manned spaceflights (running from Project Mercury in 1961 to the end of the Space Shuttle program in 2011) have departed from either KSC or Cape Canaveral. The Air Force Station has also launched unmanned military and civilian rockets. Cities in the area include Titusville, Cocoa, Rockledge, Cape Canaveral, Merritt Island (unincorporated), Cocoa Beach, Melbourne, Indialantic, Palm Bay and Viera,(unincorporated).Most of the area lies within Brevard County. It is bounded on the south by the Treasure Coast. It is bounded on the west and north by Central Florida and is economically tied to that region. It is bounded on the east by the Atlantic Ocean.

One reason rockets are launched in Florida has to do with Earth's rotation. Earth rotates most quickly at the equator, and to take advantage of this, in adding to the orbital velocity of the rocket, it is most beneficial to launch from a southerly location.

Space-named landmarks (outside KSC and Cape Canaveral Air Force Station)

Telephone area code

When the area became too heavily populated to be served by only one area code, a local resident^[8] discovered that area code 321 was not assigned to any other territory (though it was being considered for the suburban Chicago area).^[9] If each number is pronounced individually—"3, 2, 1"—the pronunciation resembles the countdown before liftoff; thus, the resident petitioned for the code to be assigned to the Space Coast region. His efforts were popular among local residents and resulted in success; the new code officially became effective on November 1, 1999.^[10][11]

See also

• First Coast
• Gold Coast
• Space Coast Office of Tourism
• Treasure Coast

References

External links

State of Florida
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