Location
Radisson Resort at the Port, Convention Center, Martinique Room
Start Date
1-5-2003 1:30 PM
End Date
1-5-2003 4:30 PM
Description
When NASA built a new revolutionary spacecraft, the design chosen was a delta-winged orbiter that would liftoff from existing launch pads and land like an airplane. This was a new concept in space travel that radically changed how the United States traveled to low earth orbit. Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida and Vandenberg Air Force Base in California were selected as launch sites and Kennedy was also chosen as a landing site. The NASA Administrator, Dr. James C. Fletcher, announced his selection on April 14, 1972. 1 The official name is “Kennedy Space Center Shuttle Landing Facility”, and the FAA locator designator is X-68.
To accommodate this reusable spacecraft, KSC was required to build a runway for end of mission landings. The space shuttle orbiter would launch into space using an external tank for main engine fuel in combination with solid rocket boosters. The space shuttle would orbit the earth completing pre-set mission directives and return to Earth without power in a controlled glide re-entry onto a runway. Unlike conventional aircraft, the orbiter lacks propulsion during the landing phase. There is no option for a missed approach to circle and try again. Its high-speed glide must land the first time.
Paper Session II-A - History of the Shuttle Landing Facility at Kennedy Space Center
Radisson Resort at the Port, Convention Center, Martinique Room
When NASA built a new revolutionary spacecraft, the design chosen was a delta-winged orbiter that would liftoff from existing launch pads and land like an airplane. This was a new concept in space travel that radically changed how the United States traveled to low earth orbit. Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida and Vandenberg Air Force Base in California were selected as launch sites and Kennedy was also chosen as a landing site. The NASA Administrator, Dr. James C. Fletcher, announced his selection on April 14, 1972. 1 The official name is “Kennedy Space Center Shuttle Landing Facility”, and the FAA locator designator is X-68.
To accommodate this reusable spacecraft, KSC was required to build a runway for end of mission landings. The space shuttle orbiter would launch into space using an external tank for main engine fuel in combination with solid rocket boosters. The space shuttle would orbit the earth completing pre-set mission directives and return to Earth without power in a controlled glide re-entry onto a runway. Unlike conventional aircraft, the orbiter lacks propulsion during the landing phase. There is no option for a missed approach to circle and try again. Its high-speed glide must land the first time.
