The University of Central Florida was authorized by the Florida State Legislature in 1963, and opened in 1968 as Florida Technological University, with the goal of providing highly-trained personnel to support the Kennedy Space Center, located only miles ( km) to the east. As the university's academic scope had expanded to encompass other disciplines, "Florida Tech" was renamed the University of Central Florida in 1978. Although initial enrollment in 1968 was only 1,948 students, as of 2012 enrollment consists of 59,767 students representing over 140 countries, all 50 states and the District of Columbia. The majority of the student population is located on the university's -acre ( km2) main campus approximately miles ( km) east-northeast of downtown Orlando and miles ( km) south-southwest