Cape Canaveral- The Early Years

From these launch pads brave men were prepared to lay down their very lives in pursuit of a dream!

Before the launch of Explorer 1, in 1958, most Americans had never heard of Cape Canaveral. But three short years later, after the launch of Alan Shepard in 1961, there were very few people on earth who hadn’t heard of it.

Over the next four decades Cape Canaveral would be the scene of America’s greatest space successes. From John Glenn’s orbiting the earth to the liftoff of Apollo 11, it all started at the Cape.

In this program we will relive the excitement of Cape Canaveral’s early days; from the V2 Vanguard and Explorer 1 to the bold missions of Project Mercury and the huge advances made in Project Gemini.