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White Sands Space Harbor
White Sands Space Harbor Capabilities
White Sands Test Facility (WSTF) operates White Sands Space Harbor (WSSH), the primary training area for space shuttle pilots flying practice approaches and landings in the Shuttle Training Aircraft (STA) and T-38 chase aircraft. The White Sands Space Harbor (WSSH) is a special airfield and operations complex built on a dry gypsum lakebed.
The WSSH runway facilities are located in Alkali Flats, a site formerly known as Northrup Strip. In 1976, NASA selected Northrup Strip as the site for pilot training. A second runway was added, and in 1979 both lakebed runways were lengthened, allowing WSSH to serve as a shuttle backup landing facility. The facility was used during the landing of STS-3 Space Shuttle Columbia in March 1982.
After the STS-3 landing, WSSH became an emergency landing site, and the U.S. Congress designated the facility as the White Sands Space Harbor.
For additional information about White Sands Space Harbor, contact Robert Mitchell, (575) 524-5774, or robert.e.mitchell@nasa.gov.
White Sands Test Facility (WSTF) operates White Sands Space Harbor (WSSH), the primary training area for space shuttle pilots flying practice approaches and landings in the Shuttle Training Aircraft (STA) and T-38 chase aircraft. The White Sands Space Harbor (WSSH) is a special airfield and operations complex built on a dry gypsum lakebed.
The WSSH runway facilities are located in Alkali Flats, a site formerly known as Northrup Strip. In 1976, NASA selected Northrup Strip as the site for pilot training. A second runway was added, and in 1979 both lakebed runways were lengthened, allowing WSSH to serve as a shuttle backup landing facility. The facility was used during the landing of STS-3 Space Shuttle Columbia in March 1982.
After the STS-3 landing, WSSH became an emergency landing site, and the U.S. Congress designated the facility as the White Sands Space Harbor.
For additional information about White Sands Space Harbor, contact Robert Mitchell, (575) 524-5774, or robert.e.mitchell@nasa.gov.