Shuttle Landing Facility
| Shuttle Landing Facility | |||
|---|---|---|---|
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| IATA: none – ICAO: KTTS – FAA LID: TTS | |||
| Summary | |||
| Airport type | Private | ||
| Owner | National Aeronautics & Space Administration | ||
| Location | Merritt Island, Florida | ||
| Elevation AMSL | 10 ft / 3 m | ||
| Coordinates | 28°36′54″N 80°41′40″W / 28.615°N 80.6945°WCoordinates: 28°36′54″N 80°41′40″W / 28.615°N 80.6945°W | ||
| Runways | |||
| Direction | Length | Surface | |
| ft | m | ||
| 15/33 | 15,000 | 4,572 | Concrete |
The Shuttle Landing Facility (ICAO: KTTS, FAA LID: TTS) is an airport located on Merritt Island in Brevard County, Florida, USA. It is a part of the John F. Kennedy Space Center (KSC), and was used by NASA's Space Shuttle for landing until the program's end in 2011, as well as for takeoffs and landings for NASA training jets and civilian aircraft, such as the Shuttle Carrier Aircraft.[1][2]
Facilities
The Shuttle Landing Facility covers 500 acres (200 ha) and has a single runway, 15/33. It is one of the longest runways in the world, at 4,572 m (15,000 ft), and is 91.4 meters (300 ft) wide.[1] (Despite its length, astronaut Jack R. Lousma stated that he would have preferred the runway to be "half as wide and twice as long".[3]) Additionally, the SLF has 305 meters (1,000 ft) of paved overruns at each end. The Mate-Demate Device (MDD), for use when the shuttle is transported by the Shuttle Carrier Aircraft, is located just off the runway.[1]
The runway is designated runway 15, or 33, depending on the direction of use. The runway surface consists of an extremely high-friction concrete strip designed to maximize the braking ability of the Space Shuttle at its high landing speed, with a paving thickness of 40.6 cm (16.0 in) at the center.[1] It uses a grooved design to provide drainage, and further increase the coefficient of friction.[1] The original groove design was found to actually provide too much friction for the rubber used in the Shuttle's tires, causing failures during several landings. This issue was resolved by grinding down the pavement, reducing the depth of the grooves significantly.
The runway was first used by a Space Shuttle on 11 February 1984, when the STS-41-B mission returned to Earth. This also marked the first-ever landing of a spacecraft at its launch site. Prior to this, all shuttle landings were performed at Edwards Air Force Base in California (with the exception of STS-3, which landed at White Sands Space Harbor) while the landing facility continued testing and shuttle crews developed landing skills at White Sands and Edwards, where the margin for error is much greater than SLF and its water hazards.[4]
A local nickname for the runway is the "gator tanning facility", as some of the 4,000 alligators living at Kennedy Space Center regularly bask in the sun on the runway.[5]
The landing facility is managed by contractor EG&G, which provides air traffic control services as well as managing potential hazards to landing aircraft, such as bird life. The Bird Team keeps the facility clear of both local and migratory birds during shuttle landings using pyrotechnics, blank rounds fired from shotguns and a series of 25 propane cannons arranged around the facility.[6]
Other users
The SLF has also been used by commercial users. Zero Gravity Corporation, which offers flights where passengers experience brief periods of microgravity, has operated from the SLF,[7] as have record-setting attempts by the Virgin Atlantic GlobalFlyer.[8]NASCAR teams have also used the facility for vehicle testing.[9]
See also
↑Jump back a sectionReferences
- ^ a b c d e NASA (2007). "Shuttle Landing Facility (SLF)". NASA. Retrieved November 7, 2007.
- ^ NASA (2007). "Shuttle Landing 101". NASA. Retrieved November 7, 2007.
- ^ Lousma, Jack R. (2010-03-15). Jack R. Lousma Edited Oral History Transcript. Interview with Ross-Nazzal, Jennifer. NASA Johnson Space Center Oral History Project. http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/history/oral_histories/LousmaJR/LousmaJR_3-15-10.htm. Retrieved February 18, 2012.
- ^ "Landing Sites". NASA.
- ^ NASA (2008). "Alligators and Rocketships". NASA.
- ^ Herridge, Linda (August 12, 2009). "Bird Team Clears Path for Space Shuttles". NASA. Retrieved 2009-08-13.
- ^ "NASA HOSTS ZERO-G FLIGHTS AT SPACE SHUTTLE LANDING FACILITY". NASA.
- ^ "Kennedy Hosts GlobalFlyer". NASA.
- ^ "From Runway to Racetrack: NASCAR Team Tests at Kennedy". NASA.
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Shuttle Landing Facility |
- Shuttle Landing Facility - NASA.gov fact sheet
- Space Shuttle Era: Landing Sites - NASA video on YouTube
- Resources for this airport:
- FAA airport information for TTS
- AirNav airport information for KTTS
- ASN accident history for TTS
- FlightAware airport information and live flight tracker
- NOAA/NWS latest weather observations
- SkyVector aeronautical chart, Terminal Procedures
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