Patrick Air Force Base, Florida

Patrick AFB is the headquarters for military space launches and large missile tests on the East Coast. It is a 2,300-acre base, south of the Cape Canaveral Air Station, the complex's main launching area near NASA's Kennedy Space Center, with which it is closely associated. Patrick AFB, together with the Cape Canaveral Air Station, employs around 13,000 people. Patrick AFB is part of the Eastern Range, a complex of tracking stations and launch sites that originate here and extend 10,000 miles to the Indian Ocean. The Eastern Range includes five tracking stations in Florida, an Air Force Air Station 1,250 miles away on the island of Antigua, and one 5,000 miles away on Ascension Island.