Space Chase, USA

To commemorate the 50^th anniversary of the moon landing this July, Rhode Island PBS airs Space Chase, USA, a documentary exploring Cocoa Beach, Florida, and how the space race transformed the town during the 1950s and 1960s.

Space Chase, USA explores the extraordinary, transformative events Cocoa Beach residents found themselves engaged in as the exploration of the future and beyond arrived on their sleepy shores. In 1951, Cocoa Beach had its first stoplight installed, and over the next 10 years, the population grew by 1000 percent. Cocoa Beach, Florida, lies 10 miles south of America’s primary spaceport, the Kennedy Space Center. Through accounts from residents, archival footage, and home movies, the documentary provides a broader personal connection to an important time in Cocoa Beach’s - and our country's - history.

“The sky was not the limit for Cocoa Beach during the 1950s and '60s and Space Chase, USA tells that important story of how this town played an important role,” said Phil Hoffman, executive director. “This film is a personal look at how the space race took the residents of Cocoa Beach for the ride of their lives.”

Featuring a trove of archival material and interviews with long-time residents, former Apollo astronauts, and Cape Canaveral-based engineers and employees, Space Chase, USA charts the history of the space program in Florida during the 1950s and 1960s.