

Kennedy Space Center (KSC) is located very, very close to Cape Canaveral, but they are not the same thing. The most exciting thing Space Force does is launching military and scientific hardware into space from Space Launch Delta 45, a complex of launch pads located on the cape and operated from nearby Patrick Space Force Base (formerly Patrick Air Force Base.) Space Force also monitors orbiting objects to ensure the safety of space operations for all involved parties. The Space Force is the newest branch of the military, and its responsibilities include space operations and monitoring of aerospace operations across the globe. The city is also quite close to Port Canaveral, a busy seaport that is home to many great cruise ships that are a perfect way to take a weekend trip or the vacation of a lifetime.Ĭape Canaveral is also home to the United States Space Force. Among the attractions are several beautiful public beaches and the Canaveral National Seashore. The city of Cape Canaveral is found in Brevard County on Florida’s Space Coast and has about 10,000 permanent residents and a solid population of tourists who wander in and out. On this cape is the city of Cape Canaveral, which hosts the Cape Canaveral Lighthouse. The geographical feature of Cape Canaveral is a cape that juts into the Atlantic from Florida’s eastern coast. The phrase “Cape Canaveral” can be used to mean many different things. Kennedy Space Center: Similar, but DifferentĬape Canaveral is a large cape that extends into the Atlantic Ocean from midway down the Florida peninsula, just across the Banana River from the city of Merritt Island. So who launches rockets from Cape Canaveral? Is Kennedy Space Center only for NASA, or do other companies launch there? Can people go to watch rocket launches at either place? In this post, you will learn the answers to these topics and more. Both Cape Canaveral and Kennedy Space Center function as spaceports, launching spacecraft and supporting spaceflight, but they are distinctively different entities. Kennedy Space Center is a NASA complex on Merritt Island, which is just northwest of Cape Canaveral. But is Cape Canaveral the same as the Kennedy Space Center?Ĭape Canaveral is not the same as the Kennedy Space Center. When we hear about rocket launches, we think of space shuttles, and moon landings fired off into space from Cape Canaveral or the Kennedy Space Center. NASA, the military, and private companies launch astonishingly complex rockets into space from the various launch facilities that dot Florida’s Space Coast.
