Since President Kennedy in 1961 challenged the nation to land a man on the moon within the decade, the John F. Kennedy Space Center has been at the center of this remarkable national journey. The comparatively modest goals of Project mercury and Gemini gave way to the construction of the Saturn V, the most powerful rocket in human history, and the historic moon landing by the Apollo 11 crew of Neil Armstrong, Edwin Aldrin and Michael Collins. Later came the Space Shuttle and the International Space Station, which have brought us the brink of NASA’s latest venture – the creation of a sustainable commercial space program. And, the adventure doesn’t stop there. In less than a decade, with Orinion and the Space Launch System, KSC is slated to again be at the center of America’s manned space program.

Photos courtesy of NASA