# 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 (TAL) scenario, as well as other sites in the United States and Canada in case of an East Coast Abort Landing (ECAL) 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 15,000-foot (4,600 m) 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 (with the same designation) was constructed parallel to it and used for one landing (STS-126). 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 (STS-44) |
| Runway 23 | Dry lakebed | 8 missions (STS-1, STS-2, STS-51-G, STS-51-F, STS-51-I, STS-51-J, STS-34 and STS-36) |
| 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 | (none) |
| 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 (Temporary) | 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 35,000 feet (11,000 m) runways and a 12,800-foot (3,900 m) 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 (TAL) sites. 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, and Istres Air Base in France. 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. Zaragoza Air Base features Runway 30L with a length of 12,109 ft (3,691 m); Morón Air Base features an 11,800 ft (3,600 m) runway; and Istres Air Base features Runway 33 with a length of 12,303 ft (3,750 m). Former TAL sites include Diego Garcia in the British Indian Ocean Territory; Cologne Bonn Airport in Germany; Ben Guerir Air Base, Morocco (1988–2002); Casablanca, Morocco (up to 1986); Banjul International Airport, The Gambia (1987–2002); Dakar, Senegal; Rota, Spain; and Kano, Nigeria. Had a TAL situation arisen during a launch from Vandenberg Air Force Base, Hao and Easter Island in the Pacific Ocean would have been the TAL sites, as would Andersen AFB, Guam with one of the longest concrete runways in the world.
RAF Fairford was the only transoceanic abort landing site for NASA's Space Shuttle in the UK. As well as having a sufficiently long runway for a Shuttle landing (the runway is 3 km long), Fairford also had NASA-trained fire and medical crews stationed on the base.

## 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 (ECAL) situation. The following sites could have been used for an ECAL:
| Landing Site | Location | Country |
| Miami International Airport | Miami, Florida | United States |
| Plattsburgh International Airport | Plattsburgh, New York | United States |
| Francis S. Gabreski Airport | Westhampton Beach, New York | United States |
| Atlantic City International Airport | Atlantic City, New Jersey | United States |
| Myrtle Beach International Airport | Myrtle Beach, South Carolina | United States |
| Wilmington International Airport | Wilmington, North Carolina | United States |
| Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point | North Carolina | United States |
| Naval Air Station Oceana | Virginia | United States |
| Dover Air Force Base | Delaware | United States |
| Bangor International Airport | Bangor, Maine | United States |
| Loring Air Force Base | Limestone, Maine | United States |
| Otis Air National Guard Base | Massachusetts | United States |
| Westover Air Reserve Base | Massachusetts | United States |
| Bradley International Airport | Connecticut | United States |
| Pease Air National Guard Base | Portsmouth, New Hampshire | United States |
| Halifax Stanfield International Airport | Enfield, Nova Scotia | Canada |
| Stephenville International Airport | Stephenville, Newfoundland and Labrador | Canada |
| CFB Goose Bay | Newfoundland and Labrador | Canada |
| Gander International Airport | Gander, Newfoundland and Labrador | Canada |
| St. John's International Airport | St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador | Canada |

## 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 (3,932 m) 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.

## Emergency Landing Sites
### Algeria

Aguenar – Hadj Bey Akhamok Airport, Tamanrasset

### Australia

Kingsford-Smith International Airport, Sydney, New South Wales (until 1986) RAAF Base Amberley, Ipswich, Queensland RAAF Base Darwin, Darwin, Northern Territory RAAF Base Pearce, Perth, Western Australia

### Bahamas

Lynden Pindling International Airport, Nassau

### Bermuda

NAS Bermuda, St. David's Island

### Canada

CFB Goose Bay, Goose Bay, Labrador CFB Namao, Edmonton, Alberta (until 1994) Gander International Airport, Gander, Newfoundland Stephenville International Airport, Stephenville, Newfoundland St. John's International Airport, St. John's, Newfoundland Halifax Stanfield International Airport, Halifax, Nova Scotia

### Cape Verde

Amílcar Cabral International Airport, Sal Island

### Chile

Mataveri International Airport, Easter Island

### Democratic Republic of the Congo

N'djili Airport, Kinshasa (until 1997)

### France

Istres-Le Tubé Air Base near Istres, France Hao Airport, Hao, French Polynesia

### The Gambia

Yundum International Airport, Banjul

### Germany

Köln Bonn Airport, Cologne Ingolstadt Manching Airport, Ingolstadt

### Greece

Souda Air Base, Souda Bay, Crete

### Iceland

Keflavík International Airport, Keflavík

### Ireland

Shannon International Airport, Shannon, County Clare

### Liberia

Roberts International Airport, Monrovia (until 1989)

### Morocco

Ben Guerir Air Base, Morocco (1988-2002) Mohammed V International Airport, Morocco (until 1986)

### Portugal

Lajes Field, Lajes Beja Airbase, Beja

### Saudi Arabia

King Khalid International Airport, Riyadh

### Spain

Zaragoza Air Base Morón Air Base Gran Canaria Airport, Gran Canaria

### Somalia

Berbera Airport, Berbera (inactive since 1991)

### South Africa

South African Air Force Base Hoedspruit

### Sweden

Arlanda Airport, Stockholm

### Turkey

Esenboğa International Airport, Ankara

### United Kingdom

RAF Greenham Common, Berkshire, England (from 1981) RAF Brize Norton, Oxfordshire, England RAF Fairford, Gloucestershire, England RAF Finningley, South Yorkshire, England (until 1996) RAF Machrihanish, Campbeltown, Scotland RAF Mildenhall, Suffolk, England RAF Upper Heyford, Oxfordshire, England (until 1993)

### British Overseas Territories

NAF Diego Garcia, British Indian Ocean Territory

### United States

Andersen Air Force Base, Guam Atlantic City International Airport, Pomona, New Jersey Bangor International Airport, Bangor, Maine MCAS Cherry Point, Havelock, North Carolina Columbus Air Force Base, Columbus, Mississippi Dover Air Force Base, Dover, Delaware Dyess Air Force Base, Abilene, Texas East Texas Regional Airport, Longview, Texas Edwards Air Force Base, California Ellsworth Air Force Base, Rapid City, South Dakota Elmendorf Air Force Base, Anchorage, Alaska Fort Huachuca, Arizona, Sierra Vista, Arizona Francis S. Gabreski Airport, Long Island, New York Grant County International Airport, Moses Lake, Washington Grand Forks Air Force Base, Grand Forks, North Dakota Griffiss International Airport, Rome, New York Grissom Air Force Base, Kokomo, Indiana Hickam Air Force Base, Honolulu, Hawaii John F. Kennedy International Airport, New York, New York Lehigh Valley International Airport, Allentown, Pennsylvania Lincoln Airport, Lincoln, Nebraska Mountain Home Air Force Base, Mountain Home, Idaho Myrtle Beach International Airport, Myrtle Beach, South Carolina Orlando International Airport, Orlando, Florida Otis Air National Guard Base, Falmouth, Massachusetts Pease Air Force Base, Portsmouth, New Hampshire Plattsburgh Air Force Base, Plattsburgh, New York Portsmouth International Airport, Portsmouth, New Hampshire Stewart Air National Guard Base, Newburgh, New York Westover Air Force Base, Chicopee, Massachusetts White Sands Space Harbor, White Sands, New Mexico Wilmington International Airport, Wilmington, North Carolina Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Dayton, Ohio