I'm Janet Petro, the director of NASA's Kennedy Space Center and every year I take
a moment to update you our friends our partners and our community leaders all
about the incredible things happening at our Spaceport. I'm going to tell you all about how
we're anticipating more than 90 launches, how we're enabling more science than ever before,
and how we're preparing for the future of deep space exploration.
Rather than just talking though maybe I could just show you. Come on!
So I think what we're going to have today is something a lot of people
don't get to see and that's a unique view of the Kennedy Space Center from the air.
The Biden Harris Administration recently released the President's budget for fiscal year 2024. This
robust budget request reflects strong bipartisan support for the nation's space program and will
allow NASA to continue exploring the secrets of the universe for the benefit of all. For every
dollar spent at Kennedy It ultimately results in a 1.82 for Florida's economy and every job at our
Spaceport results in about 11.9 jobs in the state. This pad stands empty today but just a few short
months ago NASA's historic Artemis I mission launched from 39b. The successful test of the
space launch system rocket and Orion spacecraft paved the way for a series of increasingly complex
missions that will return humans to the moon for the first time in more than half a century
With our eyes on Mars the moon will serve as improving ground for the science and
technology that will sustain human exploration deeper into our universe than ever before.
Built to support the Apollo missions of the past had 39a received new life in 2013 when
it was leased to SpaceX. Today launches from this historic pad are a regular occurrence
as crew and cargo are routinely delivered to the International Space Station for NASA's commercial
crew program. Our Partnerships with SpaceX and Boeing are instrumental to supporting a steady
Cadence of missions to station. These missions are rapidly expanding science off Planet while
also sustaining an economy in low earth orbit. As we head south along the coast some of the
many missions that will help us explore the unknown launch are right here on our Eastern
range. NASA's launch Services Program specializes in launching missions that
Advance science on multiple fronts helping us understand more about our home planet and the
universe that surrounds us. These buildings may look unremarkable but inside are the Laboratories
clean rooms and testing areas for the science and technologies that support research on the
International Space Station and enable the future of human deep space exploration.
Inside the operations and checkout building technicians are working on hardware for future
Artemis missions, including the Orion crew capsules for Artemis II and III,
as well as a European service module that will power the Artemis II Crewed vehicle.
Next door in the space station processing facility teams support science aboard the
International Space Station. The build robots to explore the lunar surface and develop NASA's deep
space Logistics program. These technologies will help us both on our planet and also in deep space.
To support this new era of space exploration Kennedy is also upgrading key infrastructure.
A very visible example is the NASA causeway bridge over the Indian River. This critical
pipeline to Kennedy and the Cape Canaveral space force station truly is a bridge to space.
The Spaceport has always been a place where technology and nature coexist.
Kennedy is home to more than 1500 unique species of plants and animals and we pride
ourselves in stewarding this land and these resources for future Generations.
I'm sure you recognize the Vehicle Assembly Building, perhaps the most iconic structure
in Kennedy. It's here we assembled the Artemis I Moon rocket and soon we will
be stacking the space launch system for the crewed Artemis II mission around the Moon.
I hope you've enjoyed this brief glimpse into the incredible things happening at Kennedy. 2023
will be another busy year of Florida Space Coast filled with Innovation exploration and discovery.
That's why we say we don't launch just rockets here at the Kennedy Space Center. We're launching
humanity's future.
[Music]