Shuttle landing facility - wikipedia Shuttle landing facility `` X68 '' redirects here. For the computer, see X68000. Shuttle Landing Facility IATA : none ICAO : KTTS FAA LID : TTS Summary Airport type Private Owner National Aeronautics & Space Administration Location Merritt Island, Florida Opened 1976 Built Elevation AMSL 10 ft / 3 m Coordinates 28 ° 36 ′ 54 '' N 80 ° 41 ′ 40 '' W ﻿ / ﻿ 28.615 ° N 80.6945 ° W ﻿ / 28.615 ; - 80.6945 Coordinates : 28 ° 36 ′ 54 '' N 80 ° 41 ′ 40 '' W ﻿ / ﻿ 28.615 ° N 80.6945 ° W ﻿ / 28.615 ; - 80.6945 Runways Direction Length Surface ft m 15 / 33 15,000 4,572 Concrete The Shuttle Landing Facility ( SLF ) ( 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. It was also used for takeoffs and landings for NASA training jets such as the Shuttle Carrier Aircraft and for civilian aircraft. Starting in 2015, Space Florida manages and operates the facility under a 30 - year lease from NASA. Private companies have been utilizing the SLF for its unique properties since 2011 and will continue to do so via Space Florida. Contents 1 Facilities 2 Space Shuttle 3 Project Morpheus testing 4 Commercial use 5 See also 6 References 7 External links Facilities The Mate - Demate Device at the Shuttle Landing Facility 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. ( Despite its length, astronaut Jack R. Lousma stated that he would have preferred the runway to be `` half as wide and twice as long ''. ) 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 was transported by the Shuttle Carrier Aircraft, was located just off the runway. 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. It uses a grooved design to provide drainage and further increase the coefficient of friction. 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. 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. 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 kept 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. Space Shuttle Space Shuttle Atlantis landing after STS - 122 Play media Space Shuttle Endeavour STS - 127 landing video Columbia was the first shuttle to arrive at the SLF via the Shuttle Carrier Aircraft on March 24, 1979. 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. On September 22, 1993, Discovery was the first space shuttle to land at night at the SLF. A total of 78 shuttle missions landed at the SLF. The final landing of a space shuttle occurred on July 21, 2011 by Atlantis for STS - 135. Discovery and Endeavour took off from the SLF on top of the Shuttle Carrier Aircraft for museums in Washington, D.C. and Los Angeles. Project Morpheus testing In 2012, NASA 's Johnson Space Center 's Project Morpheus 's first vehicle arrived at KSC. Prior to arrival at KSC and throughout the project, Morpheus vehicle tests were performed at other NASA centers ; KSC was the site for advanced testing. Multiple tests, including free flight, were performed at the SLF in 2013 - 2014. Multiple vehicles and iterations of the vehicles were tested, due to upgrades and damages during this experimental test program. During the August 9, 2012 test at the SLF, a vehicle exploded ; no one was injured. Commercial use 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, as have record - setting attempts by the Virgin Atlantic GlobalFlyer. NASCAR teams have also used the facility for vehicle testing. In 2012, Performance Power 's Johnny Bohmer did set the Guinness World Record for the Fastest Standing Mile - Street Car when his Ford GT broke the 275 mph ( 443 km / h ) barrier, setting the record at 283 mph ( 455 km / h ). In 2014, the Hennessey Venom GT recorded a top speed of 270.49 mph ( 435.31 km / h ). See also Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Skid Strip List of space shuttle landing sites References ^ Jump up to : NASA ( 2007 ). `` Shuttle Landing Facility ( SLF ) ''. NASA. Retrieved November 7, 2007. Jump up ^ NASA ( 2007 ). `` Shuttle Landing 101 ''. NASA. Retrieved November 7, 2007. Jump up ^ `` NASA Signs Agreement with Space Florida to Operate Historic Landing Facility ''. NASA. June 22, 2015. Retrieved 5 November 2015. Jump up ^ Lousma, Jack R. ( 2010 - 03 - 15 ). `` Jack R. Lousma Edited Oral History Transcript ''. NASA Johnson Space Center Oral History Project ( Interview ). Interview with Ross - Nazzal, Jennifer. Retrieved February 18, 2012. Jump up ^ NASA ( 2008 ). `` Alligators and Rocketships ''. NASA. Archived from the original on 2009 - 05 - 12. Jump up ^ Herridge, Linda ( August 12, 2009 ). `` Bird Team Clears Path for Space Shuttles ''. NASA. Retrieved 2009 - 08 - 13. ^ Jump up to : `` Kennedy History Quiz ''. NASA. Retrieved 5 November 2015. Jump up ^ `` Landing Sites ''. NASA. Jump up ^ `` NASA HOSTS ZERO - G FLIGHTS AT SPACE SHUTTLE LANDING FACILITY ''. NASA. Jump up ^ `` Kennedy Hosts GlobalFlyer ''. NASA. Jump up ^ `` From Runway to Racetrack : NASCAR Team Tests at Kennedy ''. NASA. Jump up ^ `` Performance Power LLC ''. External links 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 NASA Space Shuttle ( STS ) Space Shuttle Programs Missions Crews Parts Orbiter Vehicle ( OV ) Solid Rocket Booster ( SRB ) External Tank ( ET ) Main Engine ( SSME ) Orbital Maneuvering System ( OMS ) Reaction control system ( RCS ) Thermal protection system Booster separation motor Orbiters Enterprise Columbia Challenger Discovery Atlantis Endeavour Add - ons Spacelab ( ESA ) RMS ( CSA ) Extended Duration Orbiter Remote Controlled Orbiter Spacehab MPLM Sites Kennedy Space Center LC - 39 Vandenberg SLC - 6 Landing sites ( Abort Landing Sites ) Operations Missions ( canceled ) Crews Mission timeline Rollbacks Abort modes Rendezvous pitch maneuver Testing Pathfinder ( simulator ) MPTA MPTA - ET Approach and Landing Tests Disasters Challenger disaster ( report ) Columbia disaster ( report ) Support Crawler - transporter Mate - Demate Device Mobile Launcher Platform NASA recovery ship Orbiter Processing Facility Shuttle Avionics Integration Laboratory ( SAIL ) Shuttle Carrier Aircraft Shuttle Training Aircraft Special Deutschland - 1 Getaway Special Teacher in Space Project Shuttle - Mir Hitchhiker Derivatives Saturn - Shuttle ( canceled ) Shuttle - Derived Launch Vehicle ( SDLV ) Shuttle - Derived Heavy Lift Launch Vehicle ( HLLV ) Jupiter Shuttle - C Ares Space Launch System ( SLS ) Replicas Inspiration Independence America Related Space Shuttle design process Inertial Upper Stage Payload Assist Module ISS Space Shuttle retirement Conroy Virtus Criticism of the Space Shuttle program Rendezvous : A Space Shuttle Simulation Space Shuttle Project Shuttle Space Shuttle : A Journey into Space Orbiter Space Shuttle Mission 2007 Airports in Florida Primary Daytona Beach Destin -- Fort Walton Beach Fort Lauderdale -- Hollywood Gainesville Jacksonville Key West Miami Northeast Florida Northwest Florida Beaches Orlando Orlando Melbourne Orlando Sanford Palm Beach Pensacola Punta Gorda St. Pete -- Clearwater Sarasota -- Bradenton Southwest Florida Tallahassee Tampa Vero Beach Reliever Avon Park Executive Boca Raton Clearwater DeLand -- Taylor Fort Lauderdale Executive Herlong Jacksonville Executive Kissimmee Gateway Knight Lakeland Linder Lantana Miami Executive Naples New Smyrna Beach North Palm Beach North Perry Opa Locka Orlando Executive Ormond Beach Page Tampa Executive Venice Whitted General Airglades Apalachicola Arcadia Bartow Belle Glade Brooksville -- Tampa Bay Calhoun County Cecil Cross City Crystal River Dade - 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Question: how long is the runway at kennedy space center
Answer: 4,572 m (15,000 ft)