Cape Canaveral is a point of land that juts into the Atlantic Ocean from the east coast of Florida. It is the site of Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, where rockets are launched. People often use the name Cape Canaveral to refer to the John F. Kennedy Space Center , the site where the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) launches all its piloted space flights. The center used Air Force facilities on Cape Canaveral until 1964. That year, the center moved to Merritt Island, just west of the cape. Cape Canaveral is also the name of a town on the southern end of the cape.
Until 1963, the cape had its present name, and the station was named Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. In 1963, they were renamed Cape Kennedy and Cape Kennedy Air Force Station, respectively. In 1973, the names of the cape and the station were changed back. The word Force was dropped from the name of the station in 1994 but was reinstated in 2000. In 2020, the station was designated as the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
