Monika Luabeya
Jul 24, 2025
The Bumper V-2 launches from Cape Canaveral in this July 24, 1950, photo. In the 75 years since this milestone, this facility has seen thousands of rockets take to the skies, destined for Earth orbit, the Moon, planets, and even beyond. From Cape Canaveral and from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida nearby, astronauts launched on the first pioneering crewed missions, headed for Moon landings, and helped to build the International Space Station.
NASA Kennedy, a premier multi-user spaceport with about 100 private-sector partners and nearly 250 partnership agreements, is still the agency’s main launch site. NASA’s SpaceX Crew-11 mission, part of the agency’s Commercial Crew Program, will launch from NASA Kennedy no earlier than 12:09 p.m. EDT, Thursday, July 31. The Crew-11 mission members – NASA astronauts Zena Cardman and Mike Fincke, JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Kimiya Yui, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Platonov – are in crew quarantine before their voyage to the orbital laboratory.
Image credit: NASA
