Cape Canaveral - Cape Canaveral is a strip of land in Brevard County, Florida, United States, near the center of that state's Atlantic coast at 28°33'21?N, 80°36'17?W. It is part of a region known as the Space Coast, and is the site of the Kennedy Space Center, and the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. Many United States spacecraft are launched from either one of these sites; as a result, the term 'Cape Canaveral' or 'Canaveral' is used to refer to either location. It sits due east of Merritt Island, separated from it by the Banana River. Other features of the cape include Cape Canaveral lighthouse and Port Canaveral. The city of Cape Canaveral is a few miles south of the cape. The first rocket launch from the Cape was Bumper 8 from Launch Pad 3 on 24 July 1950. On February 6, 1959 the first successful test firing of a Titan intercontinental ballistic missile was accomplished here. All manned U.S. government (NASA) spaceflights have launched from Cape Canaveral. Cape Canaveral was chosen for rocket launches to take advantage of the earth's rotation. The centrifugal force of this rotation is greatest at the equator, and to take advantage of it, rockets are launched eastward, in the same direction of the earth's rotation. It is also highly desirable to have the downrange area sparsely populated, in case of accidents; an ocean is ideal for this. Although the United States has sites closer to the equator with expanses of ocean to the east of them (e.g. Hawaii, Puerto Rico), the east coast of Florida has substantial logistical advantages over these island locations.