Their mission is to provide continuous access to space from Earth’s premier spaceport through creativity and innovation. Located on Merritt Island, Florida, the centre is north-northwest of Cape Canaveral on the Atlantic Ocean, midway between Miami and Jacksonville on Florida's Space Coast, due east of Orlando. It is 34 miles (55 km) long and roughly six miles (9.7 km) wide, covering 219 square miles (570 km2). KSC is a major central Florida tourist destination and is approximately one hour's drive from the Orlando area. The Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex offers public tours of the centre and Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
In recent years CCSFS and KSC have been jointly referred to as the Cape Canaveral Spaceport. The name reflects a growing partnership between KSC and the 45th Space Wing and a vision for the future of Florida’s Space Coast.
NASA’s John F. Kennedy Space Center has played a pivotal role in NASA’s mission, having been the departure site for the first human journey to the moon; the starting point for hundreds of scientific, commercial, and applications spacecraft; and as the base for Space Shuttle launch and landing operations.