Beginning in 1962, NASA acquired roughly 140,000 acres around Merritt Island for Kennedy Space Center—but used only a fraction for launch operations. Since 1963, the Fish and Wildlife Service has managed most of the remaining NASA land as a national wildlife refuge, where bald eagles nest in pine trees alongside launch pads, crawlerways and sprawling solar farms.

Beginning in 1962, NASA acquired roughly 140,000 acres around Merritt Island for Kennedy Space Center—but used only a fraction for launch operations. Since 1963, the Fish and Wildlife Service has managed most of the remaining NASA land as a national wildlife refuge, where bald eagles nest in pine trees alongside launch pads, crawlerways and sprawling solar farms.

Kennedy’s undeveloped lands and lagoon waters support a refuge established in 1963. Eagle surveys, nest rescues and protection from launch-pad lighting show what managing the shared landscape involves.