President Kennedy departing Cape Canaveral. Footage of US President John F. Kennedy (1917-1963) departing from Cape Canaveral, Florida, USA, on 16 November 1963. Kennedy is seen boarding Air Force One. This was Kennedy's third visit to Cape Canaveral, taking place a week before his assassination. In 1961, Kennedy had pledged that the USA would achieve a Moon landing before the end of the decade. This led to a massive expansion of NASA and the Apollo moon programme, including the establishment of a launch facility at Merrit Island, near Cape Canaveral. During this tour, Kennedy met Gemini astronauts, was briefed on the Apollo programme, visited the launch pads, was briefed on the Saturn V rocket, and took an aerial tour of the facility. The site was renamed the Kennedy Space Center in his honour on 29 November 1963. |