America's launch pads are in Florida for two reasons.
The first reason is safety. It isn't safe to launch a rocket over land because falling debris could damage buildings or kill civilians. On some launch vehicles, such as the space shuttle, re-usable parts such as strap-on booster need to land in water because they would be destroyed if they impacted the ground.
The second reason has to do with physics. The Earth rotates eastward. As the Earth rotates, objects on Earth's surface actually travel at a very fast speed. At the equator (0 degrees latitude), objects rotate with the Earth at 1,035 miles per hour. As an object moves towards the poles, it rotates at a slower speed. At the Kennedy Space Center (28.5 degrees North latitude), objects rotate at about 911 mph. To reach orbit, a spacecraft has to reach 17,500 mph. If a spacecraft is launched eastward from Florida, it will already be traveling at 911 mph meaning it will need less fuel and have more payload capacity.
The NASA space shuttles launched from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Specifically, they used Launch Complex 39, which consisted of two launch pads: Pad 39A and Pad 39B.
Apollo 7 launched from the Air Force Station's launch pad LC-34 (this was the only Apollo mission that did not launch from Kennedy Space Center's launch pad 39-A)
Apollo 11 was launched from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, from Pad 39A.
Apollo 11 was launched from Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy Space Center in Florida on July 16, 1969.
It is a little burnt but the launch pad is designed to take extreme heat and pressure created by the space shuttle. If it wasn't, they would have to make a new launch pad every launch and those things are worth a pretty penny...
Cape Canaveral, Florida, pad 39-A
The NASA space shuttles launched from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Specifically, they used Launch Complex 39, which consisted of two launch pads: Pad 39A and Pad 39B.
Apollo 7 launched from the Air Force Station's launch pad LC-34 (this was the only Apollo mission that did not launch from Kennedy Space Center's launch pad 39-A)
Apollo 11 was launched from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, from Pad 39A.
Apollo 11 was launched from Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy Space Center in Florida on July 16, 1969.
It is a little burnt but the launch pad is designed to take extreme heat and pressure created by the space shuttle. If it wasn't, they would have to make a new launch pad every launch and those things are worth a pretty penny...
Launch Pad - card game - happened in 2010-11.
A spaceship takes off from a launch pad or spaceport.
Launch Pad 39A, part of the Launch Complex 39 site at the Kennedy Space Center on Merritt Island, Florida, north-northwest of Cape Canaveral.
Kennedy Space Center, launch pad 39-A, Cape Canaveral, Florida
Cape Canaveral, Florida, launch pad 39-A aboard the Saturn V on July 16, 1969.
The launch pad (even hours after launch) is not a place you'd want to be.See the related link for more information.