CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- At the Merritt Island Launch Annex (MILA) Spaceflight Tracking and Data Network Station at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the Patrick Air Force Base Color Guard presents the U.S. flag which flew over the station to David Carter, Near Earth Network project manager at Goddard Space Flight Center, during a closing ceremony recognizing the station's 45 years of service. The flag will be displayed in a Network Integration Center display cabinet at Goddard. The station was originally established by NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center as one of 17 Space Flight Tracking and Data Network stations around the world. Commissioned for the Apollo Program, the first launch it supported was the Apollo/Saturn 203 test flight from Launch Complex 37 on July 5, 1966. It also provided orbital support for low earth-orbiting scientific satellites. In recent history, the station has been used almost exclusively for space shuttle launch and landing support. Following the final launch and landing of the Space Shuttle Program in July 2011, the MILA station is officially decommissioned. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/centers/kennedy/pdf/167424main_MILA-08C.pdf. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett KSC-2011-6000
