Shuttle Landing Facility

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

NASA Shuttle Landing Facility
IATA: TTS – ICAO: KTTS – FAA: TTS
Summary
Airport type Private
Owner National Aeronautics & Space Administration
Location Titusville, Florida
Elevation AMSL 10 ft / 3 m
Coordinates 28°36′54″N, 80°41′40.2″W
Runways
Direction Length Surface
ft m
15/33 15,000 4,572 Concrete
Atlantis landing after STS-122
Atlantis landing after STS-122

The NASA Shuttle Landing Facility (IATA: TTS, 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 is used by the NASA Space Shuttle for landing, as well as takeoffs and landings for the NASA training jets, and civilian aircraft, such as the Shuttle Carrier Aircraft.[1][2]

Contents

[edit] Facilities

The Shuttle Landing Facility covers 500 acres (2 km²) 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 91.4 meters (300ft) wide.[1] Additionally, the SLF has 305 meters (1000ft) of paved overruns at each end.[1] 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 the paving thickness 40.6 cm (15 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.

A local slang name for the runway is the "Gator tanning facility", as some of the 4000 alligators living at Kennedy Space Center regularly bask in the sun on the runway.[3]

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c d e f NASA (2007). Shuttle Landing Facility (SLF). NASA. Retrieved on November 7, 2007.
  2. ^ NASA (2007). Shuttle Landing 101. NASA. Retrieved on November 7, 2007.
  3. ^ NASA TV (2004). "Alligators and spaceflight". NASA.

[edit] External links

v • d • e
Space Shuttle program
Main articles Space Shuttle insignia
Components
Orbiters
Launch sites
Landing sites
Developments
Testing
Other articles