About the Shuttle Landing Facility
At
15,000
ft long and 300
ft wide, the Shuttle Landing Facility (SLF) at Kennedy
Space Center is larger than most commercial runways. For comparison,
consider this: the longest runway at Los Angeles International
Airport is 12,091
ft long and 150
ft wide, 2,909
ft shorter and 150
ft narrower than the SLF. Although it is used by military
and civilian cargo carriers, astronauts' T-38 trainers, Shuttle
Training Aircraft, and helicopters, it was designed specifically
for end-of-mission Shuttle orbiter landings.
The
SLF consists of a single landing strip that is considered
two runways, depending on approach. If approaching from the
northwest, landing will be on Runway 15; from the southeast,
landing will be on Runway 33.
With
more than 330 native and migratory bird species at KSC, birds
present a special hazard to landing orbiters. Selective grass
cutting, pyrotechnic and noise-making devices may be used
to discourage birds around the SLF.
When
the Space Shuttle clears the launch tower moments after liftoff,
control is officially handed from KSC to Johnson Space Center
in Houston, TX. JSC maintains control of on-orbit activities
and landing operations. Orbiter responsibility is handed from
JSC back to KSC after vehicle cool-down and crew departure,
typically about an hour after touchdown. Immediately following
landing, 20-30 specially-designed KSC vehicles or units report
to the runway. Their activities include safing the orbiter,
assisting in crew departure and towing the vehicle to processing
facilities.
Learn
more about landing
the Space Shuttle orbiter at KSC
Orbiter
Atlantis made its first landing at Kennedy Space Center in November
1990 at the conclusion of mission 