List of Space Shuttle landing sites
Three locations in the United States were used as landing sites for the Space Shuttle system. Each site included runways of sufficient length for the slowing-down of a returning spacecraft. The prime landing site was the Shuttle Landing Facility at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, a purpose-built landing strip. Landings also occurred at Edwards Air Force Base in California, and one took place at White Sands Space Harbor in New Mexico. No Space Shuttle landed on a dry lakebed runway after 1991.
Various international landing sites were also available in the event of a Transoceanic Abort Landing scenario, as well as other sites in the United States and Canada in case of an East Coast Abort Landing situation. Space Shuttle landings were intended to regularly take place at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California for Department of Defense missions launched from the site, but none occurred due to the cancellation of all launches from Vandenberg.
Kennedy Space Center
The Shuttle Landing Facility at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida has a single concrete runway, 15/33. It is designated Runway 15 or 33, depending on the direction of use. The first landing at the SLF was for mission STS-41B in 1984; landings were suspended at the site following brake damage and a blown tire during the STS-51D landing in 1985, and resumed in 1990. Thirty-six missions landed on Runway 15 and forty-two missions landed on Runway 33, accumulating a total of 78 missions.| Runway | Surface material | Missions landed |
| Runway 15 | Concrete | 36 missions: STS-41-B, STS-51-A, STS-51-C, STS-43, STS-51, STS-60, STS-63, STS-71, STS-72, STS-79, STS-82, STS-86, STS-89, STS-91, STS-88, STS-96, STS-101, STS-106, STS-97, STS-102, STS-104, STS-105, STS-108, STS-121, STS-116, STS-118, STS-122, STS-123, STS-124, STS-119, STS-127, STS-130,STS-133, STS-134 and STS-135 |
| Runway 33 | Concrete | 42 missions: STS-41-G, STS-51-D, STS-38, STS-45, STS-50, STS-46, STS-47, STS-52, STS-54, STS-56, STS-57, STS-61, STS-60, STS-62, STS-65, STS-70, STS-69, STS-73, STS-74, STS-75, STS-77, STS-78, STS-80, STS-81, STS-83, STS-84, STS-94, STS-85, STS-87, STS-90, STS-95, STS-93, STS-103, STS-99, STS-109, STS-110, STS-112, STS-113, STS-115, STS-120, STS-129, STS-131, and STS-132 |
Edwards Air Force Base
Edwards Air Force Base in California was the site of the first Space Shuttle landing and became a backup site to the prime landing location, the Shuttle Landing Facility at the Kennedy Space Center. Several runways are arrayed on the dry lakebed at Rogers Dry Lake, and there are also concrete runways. Space shuttle landings on the lake bed took place on Runways 05/23, 15/33 and 17/35. Of the concrete strips, the main Runway 04/22 was utilized. During the renovation of 04/22, a temporary runway was constructed parallel to it and used for one landing. Five ALT free flights and fifty-four operational Space Shuttle missions landed on Edwards Air Force Base runways, making a total of fifty-nine.| Runway | Surface material | Missions landed |
| Runway 05 | Dry lakebed | 1 mission |
| Runway 23 | Dry lakebed | 8 missions |
| Runway 15 | Dry lakebed | 2 missions: ALT-14 and STS-7 |
| Runway 33 | Dry lakebed | 1 mission: STS-37 |
| Runway 17 | Dry lakebed | 11 missions: ALT-12, ALT-13, ALT-15, STS-9, STS-41-C, STS-41-D, STS-51-B, STS-61-A, STS-26, STS-27 and STS-28 |
| Runway 35 | Dry lakebed | |
| Runway 04 | Concrete | 3 missions: ALT-16, STS-33, STS-64 |
| Runway 22 | Concrete | 32 missions: STS-4, STS-5, STS-6, STS-8, STS-61-B, STS-61-C, STS-29, STS-30, STS-32, STS-31, STS-41, STS-35, STS-40, STS-48, STS-42, STS-49, STS-53, STS-55, STS-58, STS-59, STS-68, STS-66, STS-67, STS-76, STS-92, STS-98, STS-100, STS-111, STS-114, STS-117, STS-125 and STS-128 |
| Runway 04 | Asphalt | 1 mission: STS-126 |
White Sands
White Sands Space Harbor at White Sands Test Facility in New Mexico was an emergency landing site for the Space Shuttle and was used as a backup when the runways at Edwards Air Force Base and the Kennedy Space Center were unavailable. Two runways and a runway were available for landings on the dry lake bed. One mission, STS-3, used Runway 17 for a landing due to flooding at its originally planned landing site, Edwards Air Force Base.| Runway | Surface material | Missions landed |
| Runway 17 | Dry lakebed | STS-3 |
Transoceanic abort landing sites
In the event of an abort during launch, NASA had several international locations designated as transoceanic abort landing sites. All sites have runways of sufficient length to support the landing of a Space Shuttle, and included personnel from NASA as well as equipment to aid a space shuttle landing. The sites included:- Naval Air Station Bermuda, Lajes Air Base in Terceira island, Azores, Portugal
- Zaragoza Air Base in Spain, Morón Air Base in Spain
- Istres Air Base in France
- Diego Garcia in the British Indian Ocean Territory;
- Cologne Bonn Airport in Germany;
- Ben Guerir Air Base, Morocco ;
- Casablanca, Morocco ;
- Banjul International Airport, The Gambia ;
- Dakar, Senegal;
- Rota, Spain;
- Kano, Nigeria
- RAF Fairford, UK
- Hao and Easter Island in the Pacific Ocean
- Andersen AFB, Guam
East Coast abort landing sites
In certain launch abort situations where the mission profile supports a trajectory for such a landing, runways on the East Coast of the United States and Canada could have been used for an East Coast abort landing situation. The following sites could have been used for an ECAL:Vandenberg Air Force Base
Space Shuttle missions to be launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California were planned to conclude with a landing at Runway 12/30 at the site. The runway was lengthened to support shuttle landings. The first landing at Vandenberg was planned for mission STS-62-A, which was scheduled for launch in July 1986, but cancelled in the wake of the STS-51-L accident. No space shuttle operations or landings ever occurred at the site.Other sites
The joint use civilian/military Lincoln Airport/Lincoln Air National Guard Base in Lincoln, Nebraska was designated as an alternate landing site for its 12,900 ft long main runway. Including 1000 ft over-runs on each end, the runway totaled almost 15,000 ft in length. The site also had low air traffic, both commercial and military. No space shuttle landing ever occurred there.Amílcar Cabral International Airport on the island of Sal, Cape Verde, was another designated emergency landing site. Runway 01/19 at Amílcar Cabral International Airport is 10,735 ft long and is paved. No Space Shuttle landing occurred here either.
Also Gran Canaria Airport was used as a back-up site.
The French Istres-Le Tubé Air Base was also another designated site.