Three, two, one, zero, ignition.
Rocket launches today are a pretty routine venture, whether it's sending astronauts to the ISS or launching expensive satellites.
And for the past 70 years, some of our most inspiring missions, from NASA's Apollo program to SpaceX's Demo-2, have launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida.
But what's so special about this location?
Cape Canaveral sits off the east coast of Florida, roughly 3,200 kilometers from the equator.
This location is the perfect staging ground for rocket launches, as it provides a speed boost and energy savings for our launches.
You see, as the Earth rotates it naturally generates kinetic energy, rotating slowest at the poles and fastest near the equator.
This means that during launch, a rocket gets a generous speed boost assisted by the natural rotation of the planet.
But one of the most consistent hurdles we face when sending rockets to space is actually reaching a high enough speed to enter orbit…over 40,000 kilometers per hour, specifically.
We call this speed the escape velocity.
