If you have lived in Brevard County, Florida's Space Coast, you've almost certainly heard that that Kennedy Space Center was built here because this part of Florida less likely to be affected by hurricanes than other coastal areas in Florida. As the story usually goes, before the decision to build KSC was made, a careful study of weather patterns, past hurricane activity, etc. was conducted to find the area least likely to be hit and/or damaged by a hurricane. The story always seemed reasonable to me, but I had never actually read that anywhere. Having lived here since 1987, I thought the stories must have been right since we have only had a few hurricanes of any significance come our way in the last 20 years. However, after reading the December 2009 edition of Scientific American magazine, I now have a definitive answer!
As it turns out, according to Space historian Roger D. Launius, a senior curator at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, while that reason is correct, it is only one of many reasons that Kennedy Space Center was built here.
As it turns out, the east coast of Florida was chosen over the west coast because of, in part, the direction of the rotation of the earth. I learned from the article that a rocket uses less fuel escaping gravity if you launch it with the rotation of the earth. To avoid launching the rocket over populated areas, it made more sense to build KSC on the east coast.
Florida is also closer to the equator that most of the other states in the United States, therefore the velocity of the equator is faster here than it is in northern Michigan. If the rocket is launched with the rotation of the earth at a point on the earth that is spinning relatively quickly, the rocket gets an extra 'boost' of speed.
Finally, as I mentioned at the top, the weather (or lack of) did significantly factor into the decision to build the Space Center in Brevard. It's reassuring to know that the brightest minds of their day decided to build the launch facility and, more tellingly, their homes here. If they could figure out how to send a man to the moon, I'm sure they could figure out the area of Florida least likely to be affected by a hurricane. If you're thinking of moving to Florida, that's just one of many good reasons to consider buying a home in Brevard County, Florida's Space Coast!