[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 113 (Monday, July 11, 2022)]
[Senate]
[Page S3198]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  RECOGNIZING THE KENNEDY SPACE CENTER

  Mr. RUBIO. Mr. President, I would like to recognize the John F. 
Kennedy Space Center--KSC--for celebrating its 60th anniversary, which 
we observed on July 1, 2022. While the complex was not named after 
President Kennedy until November 29, 1963, it was on July 1 six decades 
ago that the launch operations center on Merritt Island, FL, was 
created.
  Since the Apollo program in 1968, every U.S. crewed orbital 
spaceflight has launched from the Kennedy Space Center property, making 
it the unambiguous leader in American spaceflight. The National 
Aeronautics and Space Administration--NASA--has carried out launch 
operations for its Apollo, Skylab, and space shuttle programs from 
Launch Complex 39, managed by KSC's personnel. For the past 60 years, 
millions of Americans have visited the area to watch astronauts slip 
the face of Earth and explore the final frontier.
  After the retirement of the Space Shuttle program in 2011, the 
Kennedy Space Center transformed from a government-focused launch base 
to a multi-user spaceport. Today, it provides a home to more than 90 
private-sector partners and nearly 250 partnership agreements in 
support of different vehicles, systems, and launch providers, enabling 
a new era of space exploration. The Kennedy Space Center further 
contributes to our Nation's space program through the Exploration 
Ground Systems, as well as the Commercial Crew, Exploration Research 
and Technology, and Launch Services Programs.
  As NASA prepares for the launch of Artemis I at KSC, the center 
remains a cornerstone of Florida's economy by employing thousands of 
civil servants and government contractors throughout the State's Space 
Coast.
  I express my thanks and deepest gratitude to the many hard-working 
men and women at the Kennedy Space Center as they continue to advance 
American space exploration further into the 21st century.

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