Cape Canaveral is a city in Brevard County, Florida, on a narrow barrier island between the Atlantic Ocean and the Banana River, on the stretch of coastline known as the Space Coast. Its name is inseparable from the American space program: the city sits just south of the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station and NASA's Kennedy Space Center, and American rocketry began here in 1950 with the first launch from the cape. That heritage, combined with the deep-water Port Canaveral, has made the city's name synonymous with spaceflight and, more recently, with the cruise industry. The city itself is small, with a population of about 10,000, and it is distinct from the federal launch facilities that carry its name. It grew from an earlier settlement known as Artesia and was incorporated in 1963, as the space program was transforming the surrounding region. The historic Canaveral Lighthouse, a reminder of the cape's maritime past, still stands nearby and is open to visitors. Today the city's economy and daily life are shaped by tourism, the cruise port, and the aerospace industry, alongside a strong residential beach-community identity. Cape Canaveral offers a coastal lifestyle with an unusual twist: residents can walk the beach and watch rockets lift off in the same day. Port Canaveral, one of the world's busiest cruise ports, brings steady activity and amenities, while Cocoa Beach lies just to the south and the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex is a short drive away. Public school students attend Brevard Public Schools. The city is a distinctive blend of beach town, space-industry neighbor, and cruise gateway, a combination found nowhere else in the country.