Imagine you're trying to throw something heavy as far as possible…
the best way to do it, is hold on, and spin in a circle to add momentum, right?
Now imagine you're the Earth and the thing you're throwing… is a rocket!
Hey there Florida wannabes, I'm Trace, this is DNews!
Thanks for swimming over.
Florida; the land of endless beaches and verdant marshes.
Oh, and we can't forget the hurricanes, of course.
Knowing all that, why would we start a space program there?
In the late 1940s, rocketry was taking off.
At the U.S. government missile range in New Mexico, scientists were trying to figure out
how to control the flight of highly explosive giant metal tubes.
In 1947, a V-2 rocket, launched, took an unplanned flight over El Paso, Texas, and crashed in
Juarez, Mexico.
The U.S. had to pay damages and deal with the international fallout.
They needed to move out of New Mexico -- they considered going to Washington, California,
Alaska, Baja, or the Banana River Naval Air Station in Florida.
Baja would have been fantastic but, because of the Juarez incident, the president of Mexico
didn't want missiles flying over his citizens.
Florida would be the place.
In 1948, the Banana River station was renamed the Joint Long Range Proving Ground, and today
it manages operations for Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.
The coast of Florida was perfect for the United States' space program, not just because the
weather is pretty good, but also it wasn’t a heavily populated area, and the site was
accessible by road, ship and rail.
But there's another reason...
I reached out to former NASA astronaut, Michael Lopez-Alegría, and asked him… why Florida?
"I don’t want to get into the orbital dynamics, but the closer you are to the equator, the
better it is to launch because you, when the earth is turning, you get the speed of the
velocity of the point that you’re on, with respect to the rest of the universe as an
added acceleration.
So, at the equator i think it’s something like 1200 feet per second, and it gets lower
as you go further north, the north pole is nothing.
So Florida, which is at 28 degrees, it’s good."
Just like the example from the beginning, if you're going to throw something really
far, spin first!
Once you're off the ground and heading for space, the Earth's rotation really helps.
If you are on the equator, you're already traveling 465 meters per second sideways,
so you get a payload advantage.
Rockets can use less fuel for the same lift.
Which is ideal.
"Also the ocean is there, so we like to launch over water, so if we, somebody won't, if we
have a bad day it wouldn’t land on somebody’s head."
When NASA launched Bumper 2 in 1950, the first launch ever done from Cape Canaveral, the
rocket reached an altitude of 248 miles, a record at the time!
Florida was hot!
Since this part of Florida was basically just a beach and a military base, the government
built a huge amount of infrastructure to support space operations.
And then in 1958 -- only a few months after Sputnik kicked them in the space-butt -- a
Jupiter C rocket carried Explorer 1 into orbit -- the first satellite put into Earth's orbit
by the United States.
It launched from Florida.
So did the first American, Alan Shepherd in 1961.
Today, we still launch from Florida, because they've got the infrastructure, they've got
the expertise and they have the best spot in the continental United States to launch.
All 135 space shuttles were launched from Florida, because they could get all the parts
there by ship or rail and assemble them in NASA's unique VAB -- vehicle assembly building.
The MSL Curiosity launched from Florida!
The rover is the size of a small SUV, and weighs almost 2000 pounds!
For such a huge, heavy launch, the coast of Florida gives that payload advantage, making
it easier to get something so big into space.
And now, the next generation of rockets too!
See, Cape Canaveral, Florida is 28 degrees above the equator -- so it's in a great spot
for launches.
Vandenberg Air Force Base, in California, is a bit higher up, at 34.4 degrees, and Russia's
Baikonur facility is a crazy 45.6 degrees!
Each of these things require different orbital calculations, and muscle to get to orbit.
The further north or south you go, the more fuel you need to get the same result.
The European Space Agency's launch site is in French Guyana, only 5.2 degrees north of
the equator, and they get a 15 percent payload advantage over Florida because of it!
When it comes to space, even though there are giant snakes and sometimes crazy weather,
Florida is still the ideal place in the continental United States for space, both now, and moving
forward into the commercial space era!
"I am totally convinced that more people that are not space professionals will get to see
what flying to space is like.
One day we’ll look back to today as we do to the 1920s and 30s and think well that was
when commercial aviation really took off, well now is when commercial space is about
to take off.
No pun intended."
If you've never been able to see a launch from Florida, I'd highly recommend it.
Add an element of space to your next Florida vacation!
I drove from Washington, D.C., to Florida to watch the very last space shuttle launch,
and it was moving, and amazing and so many things.
Best roadtrip ever.
There's nothing like seeing a real launch...and no better place to view a launch than Florida!
If you want to see a launch visit WeAreGoFL.com, or download their We Are Go Vacationauts app.
So now that you know why they launch from Florida…
Florida does get more than 100 days of rain a year, does that screw up rocket launches?
What causes launches to get cancelled?
Find out in this video!
Central Florida has more lightning strikes than anywhere on Earth, except Rwanda.
And giant metal needles do tend to attract lightning strikes!
But NASA prepares for this, but what if it happens in flight?
That would actually be really bad.
So, they constantly gather weather data and if one thing is off, they either wait or they
scrub the launch for another better day.
Would you ride a rocket to space like Lopez-Alegria?
Or would you rather stay Earthbound?
Let us know in the comments, make sure you come back every day for more DNews.
Please subscribe and thanks for watching