Canaveral has busy 2012 launch schedule

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla., Jan. 11 (UPI) -- The director of Florida's Cape Canaveral rocket range says a busy 2012 launch schedule is proof there's life after the end of NASA's shuttle program.

A dozen launches from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station are set for the coming months, including missions critical to the International Space Station, Florida Today reported Wednesday.

"We are alive and well, and we are in business here in Central Florida," said Brig. Gen. Anthony Cotton, commander of the Air Force 45th Space Wing.

Cotton is director Cape Canaveral's Eastern Range, the nation's main rocket-launching region.

"With the exception of the month of March, there is something going on at the cape throughout the year," he said.

A United Launch Alliance Delta IV rocket with a new-generation military communications satellite will launch Jan. 19, followed by a Feb. 7 launch of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket with a Dragon spacecraft to demonstrate its ability to deliver cargo to the International Space Station, officials said.