16. Cape Canaveral Air Force Station
Built: 1950Location: Cape Canaveral
Cape Canaveral Air Force Station was selected for the site of a U.S. Missile Testing Range in 1947. Construction of this facility began in 1950, beginning Brevard County's journey into the world of space exploration. The first missile, a German V-2 with an Army WAC Corporal second stage, was launched from the Cape on July 24, 1950. Canaveral Air Force Station is nationally significant in its contributions to the manned U.S. Space Program, to the unmanned scientific exploration of space and in its role of missile testing. It was at Cape Canaveral that man developed the facilities that led to the Mercury, Gemini and Apollo manned space programs and today's launches of scientific payloads.
