Milestone Ceremony

IEEE Milestone Ceremony
Kennedy Space Center
May 25, 2001


IEEE Milestone Plaque


On May 25, 2001 the Canaveral Section of the IEEE hosted a ceremony honoring those individuals involved in the development of electronic technology that enabled mankind to land on the moon and return safely to earth. An IEEE Milestone plaque was presented to the Kennedy Space Center in their honor:

Electronic Technology for Space Rocket Launches, 1950-1969
The demonstrated success in space flight is the result of electronic technology developed at Cape Canaveral, the J. F. Kennedy Space Center, and other sites, and applied here. A wide variety of advances in radar tracking, data telemetry, instrumentation, space-to-ground communications, on-board guidance, and real-time computation were employed to support the U.S. space program. These and other electronic developments provided infrastructure necessary for the successful landing of men on the moon in July 1969 and their safe return to earth.

The ceremony was held at the Dr. Kurt H. Debus Conference Center at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor's Complex and was sponsored by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), IEEE-USA, IEEE Region 3, and the Canaveral Section of IEEE. Among those making presentations were:
The Milestone Ceremony, which was attended by over 200 honorees and guests, also featured a video excerpt of President Kennedy's "Special Message to the Congress on Urgent National Needs", in which he first urged Congress to fund a program to land men on the moon before the end of the decade of the 1960's. The Milestone Ceremony was held on the 40th anniversary of this speech. (video courtesy of John F. Kennedy Library Foundation)

To see photos of the Milestone Ceremony, click here.

Author:(Canaveral Section)
(Modified: 10/27/2021)
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