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Hello, and thank you for joining us today
to recognize Kennedy Space Center’s 60th

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anniversary!

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If you have lived here on the Space Coast
for any amount of time, you know what Kennedy

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Space Center means to the folks in Central
Florida.

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Whether it was taking a tour of the center
during an elementary school field trip, getting

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startled by an unexpected sonic boom when
a spacecraft returned, or standing outside

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in the Florida sunshine and watching the flame
of a booster disappear into the clouds, almost

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anyone you meet around here will have a memory
that ties them to the work we do here every

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day.

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I’m no different.

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As you may know, my family moved to Florida
when my dad took a job supporting the Apollo

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program in the early 60s, just after Kennedy
Space Center was established to meet the audacious

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goal of landing a human on the Moon and returning
him safely to Earth.

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Some of my fondest childhood memories are
standing on Satellite Beach with my eyes to

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the sky, watching the launches that were literally
making history.

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For six decades, NASA has turned science fiction
into science fact, and every single mission

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launched from this center is intended to benefit
life right here on Earth.

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More than 250 robotic spacecraft have ventured
into space since we began exploring beyond

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our atmosphere, each one teaching us a little
more about our solar system and what lies

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beyond.

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Closer to our planet, Earth-facing satellites
help better monitor climate, track dangerous

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storms, and survey the planet’s surface.

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And our International Space Station has supported
a wide portfolio of science and continuous

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human presence on orbit for more than 20 years,
enabling groundbreaking medical and technological

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research that not only impacts life here on
Earth, but paves the way for future human

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exploration beyond low-Earth orbit.

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And this year, half a century after the last
human stepped foot on the lunar surface, Kennedy

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is once again rising to meet another audacious
goal--launching Artemis I. Through Artemis,

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the first woman and first person of color
will step on the Moon and establish a long-term

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human presence that will serve as the proving
ground for the science and technology that

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will pave the way for exploration to Mars.

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As we celebrate this diamond anniversary,
I can’t help but think back to the early

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days of Kennedy and what it must have felt
like to embrace the challenge of making the

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impossible possible.

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I think about the pride my dad must have felt
as he helped land the first human on the Moon—the

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same pride I feel as I look around this center
and see the incredible work that this team

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is doing to further the NASA legacy.

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The same pride I feel as I look at the accomplishments
of the last 60 years, and the impact they

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have had on generations of Americans.

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And the same pride I feel as I think of you—the
story tellers who have helped tell OUR story,

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who have documented these moments for future
generations, and in doing so, have inspired

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the nation.

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Thank you for celebrating with us, and thank
you for continuing to partner with Kennedy