Florida's Space Coast

The story of America's half century in space exploration, from the successful launch of the first two-stage rocket in 1950 to the space shuttle missions of 2000. It shows how the space programme transformed the east central Florida coast from a traditional citrus production and tourist area into one of the most influential high-tech centres of the nation. Cape Canaveral was chosen as a missile launch site because of its many geographical advantages. However, in the early years of the space programme, the area was far from an ideal place for NASA employees to raise their families. NASA brought in thousands of space-related workers who, besides sending machines and men into space, had to meet the challenge of moving their families from urban environms to a rural southern county. This book recounts the parallel stories of the establishment of America's space programme and its impact on the development of Brevard County.