Breathing Space

Nearly 50 years after the last Apollo mission lifted off from Cape Canaveral, NASA’s Artemis project propels Florida’s space economy with companies and universities as partners.

Cape Canaveral juts into the Atlantic Ocean like an arrow. Its flat terrain is a good location to build towering rockets and launch them over open water — a dangerous business made safer by directing projectiles away from people. At the dawn of the space age, the federal government considered other sites, but Florida had a rare, invisible asset that sealed the deal.

 
March 28, 2024
Amy Keller | 9/1/2022

Cape Canaveral’s proximity to the equator means the Earth’s spin — roughly 914 mph here — is stronger than up the eastern seaboard. That momentum gives rockets an extra boost as they break the bonds of Earth, saving precious fuel. Through triumph and tragedy and decades of economic booms and busts, the cape has remained Florida’s constant competitive advantage.

This year marks the 50th anniversary of Apollo 17, the last time man walked on the moon. In mythology, Artemis is Apollo’s twin and goddess of the moon, and when the U.S. declared its new goal to return humans to the moon, the name personified a bold ambition to create a sustainable presence in space for launching missions to Mars and beyond. To accomplish this audacious endeavor, a constellation of private companies and academic researchers is partnering in the effort and, once again, energizing Florida’s economic evolution.

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Structural technology keeps Skyway Bridge safe from mass destruction
Structural technology keeps Skyway Bridge safe from mass destruction

USF marine scientist Mark Luther, says dozens of concrete barriers protecting the bridge from collision is just the beginning of an ongoing effort to keep it safe.

 

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