The history of Cape Canaveral, the site of the Kennedy Space Center, dates back thousands of years to the earliest Native American inhabitants. Spanish explorers arrived in the area in the 16th century. The cape got its name from Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de León in 1513, who named it “Cabo Cañaveral.” Fast forward to the mid-20th century, the U.S. government selected Cape Canaveral in 1949 as a test site for long-range missiles due to its location near the equator, which allows rockets to take advantage of the Earth’s rotation for extra speed, and its eastern seacoast location ensures that rockets are launched over water for safety reasons. The Space…