By David G. Allan, CNN
Cocoa Beach, Florida (CNN) — Cape Canaveral is no dusty history tour, despite the consecrated status this oceanside resort area holds as the birthplace of American spaceflight. The Space Coast, as it’s often called, is not just where this bold era of science began, with multiple museums to document it. It remains the most active spaceport in the world.
Inside the Apollo/Saturn V hangar at Kennedy Space Center, one of the many artifacts I felt excited to be only feet away from was the Lunar Roving Vehicle, or “moon buggy,” driven by astronauts on the Apollo 17 mission of 1972. It’s parked in the shadow of the massive Saturn V rocket, which hauled astronauts and their gear in the late 1960s and early ’70s. Apollo 17 was the last crewed mission to the moon.
Turning 180 degrees on my heels, visible through the hangar’s glass doors, the Artemis II rocket was being rolled out to its launchpad at the time of my recent visit, soon to carry the first astronauts back to the moon in more than 50 years.
The space between
About an hour’s drive from Orlando, Cape Canaveral and the neighboring town of Cocoa Beach entered the public’s consciousness in the early 1960s as the spot on the map where the original seven American astronauts lived, launched and lounged by motel pools. It’s as beautiful a historical destination as you’ll find, with palm trees, ocean waves, a tan sand beach, stunning sunrises and sunsets, and wildlife everywhere.
Once you reach the scenic coastal highway of Route A1A, other than Frank Sinatra wailing “Fly Me to the Moon,” you can’t find a better audio companion than a reading of “The Right Stuff.” Tom Wolfe’s 1979 book chronicles the adventurous origin story and missions of the original Mercury astronauts. The Audible version is entertainingly performed by Dennis Quaid, who played astronaut Gordon Cooper in the 1983 film adaptation. Re-listening to it, this time I started with chapter seven, “The Cape.”
“Cape Canaveral was in Florida, but not any part of Florida you would write home about,” Wolfe wrote. “No, Cape Canaveral was not Miami Beach or Palm Beach or even Key West. Cape Canaveral was Cocoa Beach … the resort town for all the Low Rent folk who couldn’t afford the beach towns farther south.”
Sixty some years later, Cocoa Beach is still not overly developed or catering to wealthy visitors. Among the modestly sized hotel chains and beachside condo units, there are still old-school motels in working order. Among the fast-food restaurant chains are a few establishments with authentic connections to space history, and with better food.
While you’re in its orbit, the Space Coast rewires your mental compass, it’s magnetic north pointing to all things cosmic. You bump into it everywhere. There are massive rockets on launch pads in the distance. CBD Vape shops sport tableaus of astronauts with surf boards spray-painted on their walls. A chatty barista tells you he’s a NASA brat. Other local businesses have names such as Space Coast Inn, Starlite Restaurant, Lift Off Lounge, Space-Mann Storage, Launch Pad Bar & Grill and The Astronaut’s Wife (a vintage clothing seller).
Stepping into the lobby of the Courtyard Cocoa Beach Marriott, I was greeted by a replica of a full-size 1980s-era astronaut suit, flanked by two model rockets. Next to them were details of upcoming launches that anyone can watch, including Artemis II. Just off the lobby they have a small glass case with items on loan from one of the local space museums. I hopped on an elevator with a young woman wearing a shirt emblazoned with the famous original blue NASA “meatball” logo. And when I turned on the TV in my room I found “The Martian” and “Star Wars” playing two channels apart. There’s no turning off a compass.
Walking in astronauts’ boot steps
The first launch-watching tourists who came