<P> NASA began land acquisition in 1962, buying title to 131 square miles (340 km) and negotiating with the state of Florida for an additional 87 square miles (230 km). The major buildings in KSC's Industrial Area were designed by architect Charles Luckman . Construction began in November 1962, and Kennedy visited the site twice in 1962, and again just a week before his assassination on November 22, 1963 . </P> <P> On November 29, 1963, the facility was given its current name by President Lyndon B. Johnson under Executive Order 11129 . Johnson's order joined both the civilian LOC and the military Cape Canaveral station ("the facilities of Station No. 1 of the Atlantic Missile Range") under the designation "John F. Kennedy Space Center", spawning some confusion joining the two in the public mind . NASA Administrator James E. Webb clarified this by issuing a directive stating the Kennedy Space Center name applied only to the LOC, while the Air Force issued a general order renaming the military launch site Cape Kennedy Air Force Station . </P> <P> Located on Merritt Island, Florida, the center is north - northwest of Cape Canaveral on the Atlantic Ocean, midway between Miami and Jacksonville on Florida's Space Coast, due east of Orlando . It is 34 miles (55 km) long and roughly six miles (9.7 km) wide, covering 219 square miles (570 km). </P> <P> KSC is a major central Florida tourist destination and is approximately one hour's drive from the Orlando area . The Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex offers public tours of the center and Cape Canaveral Air Force Station . </P>

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