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During the Space Shuttle Program, the Flight Dynamics Officer was responsible for the selection of Shuttle Landing sites for a variety of scenarios including nominal End-of-Mission (EOM), various Ascent Abort scenarios (Trans-Atlantic Abort Landing – TAL and Abort-Once-Around – AOA), and other potential emergency landing scenarios.

In coordination with the Landing Support Officer (LSO), worldwide runway complexes, that met basic requirements of runway length and navigational aids, were compiled into a list of potential Shuttle landing sites. Current mission requirements, Shuttle trajectories, and weather reports from around the world were combined to select the best landing opportunity in real-time. These landing sites were loaded into the FDO’s Deorbit Opportunities Processor (DOPS), which provided an at-a-glance view of upcoming landing opportunities.

The (admittedly rough by today’s standards) map graphics you see below were generated by the LSOs during the mid-1990s using the technology at hand. Obviously, more modern mapping capabilities would make these look so much better, but -THE TRENCH- will continue to provide these maps as an archive of how it was done in the Mission Control Center during the Space Shuttle Program of the 1980s and 1990s.
Presented by:
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Take me to the Shuttle Program Landing metrics table!

World Map of Shuttle Landing Sites

World Map

In this graphic, all world-wide designated Space Shuttle Landing Sites are identified. The sites in the two blue boxes are defined in the other two images below.

These sites included Primary Landing Site (PLS) as well as Emergency Landing Site (ELS) choices.

The three PLS sites were EDW – Edwards Air Force Base, NOR – Northrup, White Sands Space Harbor, and KSC – Kennedy Space Center.

ELS sites ranged from those also used for Trans-Atlantic Abort Landing (TAL) sites as well as true “Emergency” sites (Hao Atoll and Easter Island in the South Pacific). Hao and Easter Island had originally intended as “TAL” sites for launches planned from Vandenberg.

Eastern CONUS Shuttle Landing Sites

CONUS Map

In this graphic, sites in the Eastern Continental United States (CONUS) are displayed.

The details in this map show the sites up the coast of the Eastern United States. This was used, primarily, to outline the possible “intact abort” sites during high-inclination Space Shuttle launches.

Kennedy (KSC) was, of course, the launch facility, but was also the Return-to-Launch-Site (RTLS) abort landing site. RTLS was a very dangerous, and thankfully never executed, abort scenario. It was simulated many many times, however, and had the crew and the MCC needed to perform it, they were ready.

Sites up the East Coast were all on high-alert during a launch that might have needed them at a moment’s notice.

European and Northern African Shuttle Landing Sites

Europe and Africa Map

In this final graphic, sites in Europe and Northern Africa are displayed.

The primary role of the sites in Europe and Northern Africa were to support Day-of-Launch (DOL) Abort landings.

The selection of the sites were specific to the launch inclination. More easterly launches (28.5 degree inclination) would have resulted in lower latitude potential abort landings, while the Mir/ISS launches (51.6 degree inclination) and higher would have engaged more of the northern/European sites.

Post-launch, these sites were also kept on hold for potential ELS opportunities.

Space Shuttle Landing Metrics

Approach and Landing Tests

This table outlines the Space Shuttle Approach and Landing Tests conducted by the orbiter Enterprise. These critical evaluations were designed to assess the shuttle’s landing capabilities and systems in preparation for future missions.

Approach & Landing Tests

Order Mission ALT Test Date Orbiter Duration Landing site Notes
1 ALT-12 8/12/1977 Enterprise 5 minutes EDW First free flight First non-captive flight of Enterprise First landing at Edwards Air Force Base
2 ALT-13 9/13/1977 Enterprise 5 minutes EDW Second free flight
3 ALT-14 9/23/1977 Enterprise 5 minutes EDW Third free flight
4 ALT-15 10/12/1977 Enterprise 2 minutes EDW Fourth free flight First flight without tailcone (operational configuration)
5 ALT-16 10/26/1977 Enterprise 2 minutes EDW Final free flight Final non-captive flight of Enterprise First landing on runway rather than lakebed
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Space Shuttle Program Landing Site Data

This table provides a comprehensive overview of Space Shuttle missions, detailing key information such as launch and landing times, the specific Space Shuttle Orbiter used, and the designated landing sites. Each mission played a significant role in advancing human space exploration and scientific research. Explore the milestones achieved by these iconic spacecraft throughout their operational history. Please note that landing sites were not listed for Challenger on STS-51L nor for Columbia on STS-107

Space Shuttle Program landing data

Flight Order Mission Name Launch date Landing Date Orbiter Landing site
1 STS-1 12/04/1981 14/04/1981 Columbia EDW
2 STS-2 12/11/1981 14/11/1981 Columbia EDW
3 STS-3 22/03/1982 30/03/1982 Columbia WSSH
4 STS-4 27/06/1982 04/07/1982 Columbia EDW
5 STS-5 11/11/1982 16/11/1982 Columbia EDW
6 STS-6 04/04/1983 09/04/1983 Challenger EDW
7 STS-7 18/06/1983 24/06/1983 Challenger EDW
8 STS-8 30/08/1983 05/09/1983 Challenger EDW
9 STS-9 28/11/1983 08/12/1983 Columbia EDW
10 STS-41-B 03/02/1984 11/02/1984 Challenger KSC
11 STS-41-C 06/04/1984 13/04/1984 Challenger EDW
12 STS-41-D 30/08/1984 05/09/1984 Discovery EDW
13 STS-41-G 05/10/1984 13/10/1984 Challenger KSC
14 STS-51-A 08/11/1984 16/11/1984 Discovery KSC
15 STS-51-C 24/01/1985 27/01/1985 Discovery KSC
16 STS-51-D 12/04/1985 19/04/1985 Discovery KSC
17 STS-51-B 29/04/1985 06/05/1985 Challenger EDW
18 STS-51-G 17/06/1985 24/06/1985 Discovery EDW
19 STS-51-F 29/07/1985 06/08/1985 Challenger EDW
20 STS-51-I 27/08/1985 03/09/1985 Discovery EDW
21 STS-51-J 03/10/1985 07/10/1985 Atlantis EDW
22 STS-61-A 30/10/1985 06/11/1985 Challenger EDW
23 STS-61-B 26/11/1985 03/12/1985 Atlantis EDW
24 STS-61-C 12/01/1986 18/01/1986 Columbia EDW
25 STS-51-L 28/01/1986 Challenger
26 STS-26 29/09/1988 03/10/1988 Discovery EDW
27 STS-27 02/12/1988 06/12/1988 Atlantis EDW
28 STS-29 13/03/1989 18/03/1989 Discovery EDW
29 STS-30 04/05/1989 08/05/1989 Atlantis EDW
30 STS-28 08/08/1989 13/08/1989 Columbia EDW
31 STS-34 18/10/1989 23/10/1989 Atlantis EDW
32 STS-33 22/11/1989 27/11/1989 Discovery EDW
33 STS-32 09/01/1990 20/01/1990 Columbia EDW
34 STS-36 28/02/1990 04/03/1990 Atlantis EDW
35 STS-31 24/04/1990 29/04/1990 Discovery EDW
36 STS-41 06/10/1990 10/10/1990 Discovery EDW
37 STS-38 15/11/1990 20/11/1990 Atlantis KSC
38 STS-35 02/12/1990 11/12/1990 Columbia EDW
39 STS-37 05/04/1991 11/04/1991 Atlantis EDW
40 STS-39 28/04/1991 06/05/1991 Discovery KSC
41 STS-40 05/06/1991 14/06/1991 Columbia EDW
42 STS-43 02/08/1991 11/08/1991 Atlantis KSC
43 STS-48 12/09/1991 18/09/1991 Discovery EDW
44 STS-44 24/11/1991 01/12/1991 Atlantis EDW
45 STS-42 22/01/1992 30/01/1992 Discovery EDW
46 STS-45 24/03/1992 26/03/1992 Atlantis KSC
47 STS-49 07/05/1992 16/05/1992 Endeavour EDW
48 STS-50 25/06/1992 09/07/1992 Columbia KSC
49 STS-46 31/07/1992 08/08/1992 Atlantis KSC
50 STS-47 12/09/1992 20/09/1992 Endeavour KSC
51 STS-52 22/10/1992 01/11/1992 Columbia KSC
52 STS-53 02/12/1992 09/12/1992 Discovery EDW
53 STS-54 13/01/1993 19/01/1993 Endeavour KSC
54 STS-56 08/04/1993 17/04/1993 Discovery KSC
55 STS-55 26/04/1993 06/05/1993 Columbia EDW
56 STS-57 21/06/1993 21/06/1993 Endeavour KSC
57 STS-51 12/09/1993 22/09/1993 Discovery KSC
58 STS-58 18/10/1993 01/11/1993 Columbia EDW
59 STS-61 02/12/1993 13/12/1993 Endeavour KSC
60 STS-60 03/02/1994 11/02/1994 Discovery KSC
61 STS-62 04/03/1994 18/03/1994 Columbia KSC
62 STS-59 09/04/1994 20/04/1994 Endeavour EDW
63 STS-65 08/07/1994 23/07/1994 Columbia KSC
64 STS-64 09/09/1994 20/09/1994 Discovery EDW
65 STS-68 30/09/1994 11/10/1994 Endeavour EDW
66 STS-66 03/11/1994 14/11/1994 Atlantis EDW
67 STS-63 03/02/1995 11/02/1995 Discovery KSC
68 STS-67 02/03/1995 18/03/1995 Endeavour EDW
69 STS-71 27/06/1995 07/07/1995 Atlantis KSC
70 STS-70 13/07/1995 22/07/1995 Discovery KSC
71 STS-69 07/09/1995 18/09/1995 Endeavour KSC
72 STS-73 20/10/1995 05/11/1995 Columbia KSC
73 STS-74 12/11/1995 20/11/1995 Atlantis KSC
74 STS-72 11/01/1996 20/01/1996 Endeavour KSC
75 STS-75 22/02/1996 09/03/1996 Columbia KSC
76 STS-76 22/03/1996 31/03/1996 Atlantis EDW
77 STS-77 19/05/1996 29/05/1996 Endeavour KSC
78 STS-78 20/06/1996 07/07/1996 Columbia KSC
79 STS-79 16/09/1996 26/09/1996 Atlantis KSC
80 STS-80 19/11/1996 07/12/1996 Columbia KSC
81 STS-81 12/01/1997 22/01/1997 Atlantis KSC
82 STS-82 11/02/1997 21/02/1997 Discovery KSC
83 STS-83 04/04/1997 08/04/1997 Columbia KSC
84 STS-84 15/05/1997 24/05/1997 Atlantis KSC
85 STS-94 01/07/1997 17/07/1997 Columbia KSC
86 STS-85 07/08/1997 19/08/1997 Discovery KSC
87 STS-86 25/09/1997 06/10/1997 Atlantis KSC
88 STS-87 19/11/1997 05/12/1997 Columbia KSC
89 STS-89 22/01/1998 31/01/1998 Endeavour KSC
90 STS-90 17/04/1998 03/05/1998 Columbia KSC
91 STS-91 02/06/1998 12/06/1998 Discovery KSC
92 STS-95 29/10/1998 07/11/1998 Discovery KSC
93 STS-88 04/12/1998 15/12/1998 Endeavour KSC
94 STS-96 27/05/1999 06/06/1999 Discovery KSC
95 STS-93 23/07/1999 27/07/1999 Columbia KSC
96 STS-103 19/12/1999 27/12/1999 Discovery KSC
97 STS-99 11/02/2000 22/02/2000 Endeavour KSC
98 STS-101 19/05/2000 29/05/2000 Atlantis KSC
99 STS-106 08/09/2000 19/09/2000 Atlantis KSC
100 STS-92 11/10/2000 24/10/2000 Discovery EDW
101 STS-97 30/11/2000 11/12/2000 Endeavour KSC
102 STS-98 07/02/2001 20/02/2001 Atlantis EDW
103 STS-102 08/03/2001 21/03/2001 Discovery KSC
104 STS-100 19/04/2001 01/05/2001 Endeavour EDW
105 STS-104 12/07/2001 25/07/2001 Atlantis KSC
106 STS-105 10/08/2001 22/08/2001 Discovery KSC
107 STS-108 05/12/2001 17/12/2001 Endeavour KSC
108 STS-109 01/03/2002 12/03/2002 Columbia KSC
109 STS-110 08/04/2002 19/04/2002 Atlantis KSC
110 STS-111 05/06/2002 19/06/2002 Endeavour EDW
111 STS-112 07/10/2002 18/10/2002 Atlantis KSC
112 STS-113 23/11/2002 07/12/2002 Endeavour KSC
113 STS-107 16/01/2003 Columbia
114 STS-114 26/07/2005 09/08/2005 Discovery EDW
115 STS-121 04/07/2006 17/07/2006 Discovery KSC
116 STS-115 09/09/2006 21/09/2006 Atlantis KSC
117 STS-116 09/12/2006 22/12/2006 Discovery KSC
118 STS-117 08/06/2007 22/06/2007 Atlantis EDW
119 STS-118 08/08/2007 21/08/2007 Endeavour KSC
120 STS-120 23/10/2007 07/11/2007 Discovery KSC
121 STS-122 07/02/2008 20/02/2008 Atlantis KSC
122 STS-123 11/03/2008 26/03/2008 Endeavour KSC
123 STS-124 31/05/2008 14/06/2008 Discovery KSC
124 STS-126 14/11/2008 30/11/2008 Endeavour EDW
125 STS-119 15/03/2009 28/03/2009 Discovery KSC
126 STS-125 11/05/2009 24/05/2009 Atlantis EDW
127 STS-127 15/07/2009 31/07/2009 Endeavour KSC
128 STS-128 28/08/2009 11/09/2009 Discovery EDW
129 STS-129 16/11/2009 27/11/2009 Atlantis KSC
130 STS-130 08/02/2010 22/02/2010 Endeavour KSC
131 STS-131 05/04/2010 20/04/2010 Discovery KSC
132 STS-132 14/05/2010 26/05/2010 Atlantis KSC
133 STS-133 24/02/2011 09/03/2011 Discovery KSC
134 STS-134 16/05/2011 01/06/2011 Endeavour KSC
135 STS-135 08/07/2011 21/07/2011 Atlantis KSC
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13 Comments

  1. Ceth
    Ceth on April 7, 2019 at 1:49 pm

    Cool!

    Reply
  2. Eric
    Eric on December 9, 2020 at 11:12 am

    Hey! This is really great. I found your site from a link on simpleflying.com. Thanks for this info.

    Reply
  3. Chris Ahart
    Chris Ahart on May 26, 2021 at 1:48 pm

    When I was stationed at Kadena Air Base Okinawa from 79 to 81 we were designated as a abort destination .
    I worked in Central Security Control and we had charts and maps on the wall to advise Security where the shuttle would be parked, perimeter control and access etc.

    Reply
    • Roger Balettie
      Roger Balettie on May 26, 2021 at 4:00 pm

      Hi Chris! Thanks for adding that cool bit of Shuttle history… and yes, there were a number of 12Kft runways around the world that could have been used for those contingency landings.

      The sites that I have listed on this page were ones that were actively supported during certain mission timeframes with dedicated personnel. Not every one of the 12Kft runways around the world met that criteria, although we certainly *would* have used (for instance) Kadena if it were our best option – even if we didn’t have real-time personnel there to meet the Orbiter!

      Reply
      • Steve Pemberton
        Steve Pemberton on December 12, 2022 at 11:57 am

        I know that at the two trans-Atlantic abort sites for a particular mission there were personnel on standby during launch. I assume that these were local airport workers who were being paid by NASA for this? Or maybe there was also at least one NASA employee stationed there during the launch. Were people on standby at all of the east coast launch abort sites? As for emergency landings from space, since a particular site could be called up anytime during the mission, I would guess that no one was necessarily there on standby during the entire mission dedicated to Shuttle, but that instead all of the controllers and security personnel had been briefed or received training so that whoever happened to be working when the emergency occurred would be able to handle it. That’s my guess anyway. Thanks for any insight on this.

        Reply
        • Roger Balettie
          Roger Balettie on December 12, 2022 at 1:35 pm

          Hi Steve! There were actually several TAL abort sites that could be used, depending on the inclination of the mission. You’re correct, though, that some locals were paid for support, but the primary TAL support were NASA (or DoD) personnel specifically sortied to those sites pre-launch to verify all of the NAVAIDS were working and then to support the actual mission. There would be times where the *specific* TAL site wouldn’t be selected until the final weather forecast briefing, so there were NASA/DoD personnel at multiple sites! For “emergency landings”, a lot of these were “best available support”, but the primary CONUS site (EDW, KSC, or NOR) for specific orbits each day were fully staffed and ready. There were also times where certain worldwide landing sites could be identified as possible options, based on the orbital groundtrack, so in those cases – they had knowledge of a possible timespan in which (if it were to happen) they might have been needed to support. The FDO would coordinate with the Landing Support Officer (DoD early on, but transitioned to NASA personnel who worked directly with DoD and State assets worldwide for coordination) to make sure they always had the latest deorbit opportunities timeline. You can see an example of one of the CONUS Deorbit Opportunities Table on the Entry FDO displays page. But again, yes – anyone who was at a potential emergency landing site (CONUS, TAL, or otherwise) that would have needed to support a Shuttle landing would have received both extensive initial and subsequent refresher training!

          Reply
  4. Joe Williams
    Joe Williams on September 9, 2021 at 8:52 am

    Hi I was told that filton air field in Bristol was the back up to RAF Fairfield if the shuttle over shot it’s mark

    Reply
    • Roger Balettie
      Roger Balettie on September 9, 2021 at 9:01 am

      Hi Joe! RAF Filton, being only 8Kft in length, would never have been a *planned* Shuttle runway. We never planned on anything less than 12Kft as a rule, with Fairford being one of the exceptions (10Kft) because of lack of options. However, if it were a “really bad day” and the energy situation (velocity and altitude, including rates) were so low as to not have any options, it would be any visual option available.

      Reply
    • JSPOC
      JSPOC on December 4, 2022 at 9:35 am

      Filton was never a TAL nor abort site. Fairford (FFD on the MOCR map) was routinely put on alert for a launch, even one time during when the Air Tattoo was on the base. A friend who works on the fire team said they were routinely tested on requirements, should they ever be required.

      Reply
  5. Neil
    Neil on March 12, 2022 at 1:17 pm

    I’m an Air Traffic Controller at Shannon ACC (en route control centre just down the road from Shannon Airport). In the Boardroom at work we have an Irish flag which flew in space aboard Discovery in 2008, presented by NASA as thanks for the unit’s support of the Shuttle program[me]

    Reply
    • Roger Balettie
      Roger Balettie on March 12, 2022 at 1:39 pm

      Hi Neil – that’s a fantastic memento and deserved recognition. Thank you for your and your unit’s support. The Shuttle Program was truly a worldwide team effort!

      Reply
  6. James Varden
    James Varden on December 29, 2022 at 4:46 am

    Comment *Hi Roger. I would very much like to clear something up. There has been a myth for many years here in Zimbabwe that Hwange National Park Airport (HWN)was an emergency landing site for the shuttle. The runway is 15,092 feet and asphalt. Could this have been true as I see that Hoedspruit is listed as one of the African runways? Thank you

    Reply
    • Roger Balettie
      Roger Balettie on December 29, 2022 at 8:11 am

      Hi James – there are distinctions in Space Shuttle ELS designations that are in play here. While yes – HWN is certainly long enough to support the landing and rollout requirements, there would not have been the Tactical Air Navigation / Navigation Aids (TACAN/NAVAIDS) required to support a safe/planned landing there. HWN isn’t in the Flight Data File (FDF) “Flight Maps and Charts” that I have (vintage 1991), so it would have had to have been a “Very Bad Day ™” to not be able to use one of the more equipped facilities (listed in the FDF) within a possible entry groundtrack. A proper ELS designation required not only the physical dimensions to support but also some of the basic navigation aids and agreements via State Department/DoD channels. I don’t believe HWN ever was in that list.

      Reply

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