Narrator: A rich history...
A promising future...
A work force with legendary talent...
At the nation's most celebrated launch complex for half a century.
This is NASA's Kennedy Space Center.
President John F. Kennedy: "We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other
things; not because they are easy, but because they are hard."
Launch Commentator: "10, 9, ignition sequence start, 6..."
Neil Armstrong, Astronaut: "That's one small step for man...
one giant leap for mankind"
From the pioneering days of Mercury and Gemini, to the triumph of Apollo...
from the successes of the space shuttle, to the construction of the International Space Station,
and the send-off of countless robotic explorers...
Kennedy Space Center knows adventure on a grand scale.
As the home base of NASA's Launch Services Program, we prepare and launch
a variety of rockets...
carrying spacecraft headed for destinations in low Earth orbit, across our solar system
and into the reaches of deep space.
NASA's Commercial Crew Program is taking America to new heights with its aerospace industry
partners in a revolutionary approach to human spaceflight...
with the ultimate goal of developing
launch systems to provide safe, reliable and affordable astronaut access to space.
NASA also is working with industry to deliver cargo to the International Space Station under
contracts with commercial companies.
And Kennedy is preparing for NASA's next-generation heavy-lift rocket,
the Space Launch System...
capable of launching the Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle and additional cargo
deeper into space than astronauts have ever been before.
Nicholas Patrick, NASA Astronaut: Every day that we design Orion,
we get closer to going out to places like the moon, mars, asteroids, or perhaps even the moons
of other planets.
Narrator: With such a diverse array of vehicles seeking launch support and processing
capabilities, we're modernizing and streamlining our facilities to serve a variety of rockets and
spacecraft, both government and commercial.
That ambitious job falls to the center's Ground Systems Development and Operations Program
and work already is well underway on Launch Complex 39B...
the new, 355-foot-tall mobile launcher...
a refurbished crawler-transporter...
and inside the center's iconic Vehicle Assembly Building.
As the future unfolds, collaboration will be key to maintaining our success.
The Center Planning and Development Office is hard at work, developing partnerships that will
share the center's unique resources...
while advancing its goal as a robust, multi-user spaceport.
Facilities previously dedicated to the space shuttle now are being used
by commercial companies.
For example, the runway where the shuttles touched down is proving useful for Starfighters,
Incorporated, launching a new fleet of F-104 jet aircraft...
and in research conducted by NASCAR race teams.
The Boeing Company will use Orbiter Processing Facility-3 for the manufacture and assembly
of its CST-100 spacecraft.
And the new Exploration Park, including the Space Life Sciences Lab, will serve as a hub for
cutting-edge research and technology.
Much of the research taking place at Kennedy is tested in space aboard
the International Space Station.
Orbiting 250 miles above Earth, the station serves as a national laboratory...
and as an engineering and life-science testbed for long-duration missions far beyond our planet.
Despite the high-tech environment, things do get wild.
The spaceport coexists with the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, with a variety of habitats
for hundreds of species of animals.
Kennedy Space Center is committed to long-term sustainability...
to protect the environment, and to use our planet's resources as efficiently as possible.
For example, the Propellants North Administrative and Maintenance Facility, opened in 2011,
generates enough energy to offset what it consumes.
And a partnership with Florida Power and Light led to a 10-megawatt solar farm,
generating enough energy to power more than a thousand homes...
while providing an additional 1-megawatt facility to help Kennedy reduce energy costs...
and freeing up more resources for the missions to come.
We've been in this business for 50 years.
Every mission...
every innovation...
every new partnership...
is powered by decades of experience,
and an unwavering commitment to excellence.
Today we stand on the foundation of that legacy, as together, we build our future in space.