Editing Space Shuttle (section)

====Landing sites====
{{see also|List of Space Shuttle landing sites}}

The primary Space Shuttle landing site was the [[Shuttle Landing Facility]] at KSC, where 78 of the 133 successful landings occurred. In the event of unfavorable landing conditions, the Shuttle could delay its landing or land at an alternate location. The primary alternate was Edwards AFB, which was used for 54 landings.<ref name=jenkins2016 />{{rp|III–18–20}} [[STS-3]] landed at the [[White Sands Space Harbor]] in [[New Mexico]] and required extensive post-processing after exposure to the [[gypsum]]-rich sand, some of which was found in ''Columbia'' debris after [[STS-107]].<ref name=jenkins2016 />{{rp|III–28}} Landings at alternate airfields required the Shuttle Carrier Aircraft to transport the orbiter back to [[Cape Canaveral]].<ref name=jenkins2016 />{{rp|III–13}}

In addition to the pre-planned landing airfields, there were 85 agreed-upon [[emergency landing sites]] to be used in different abort scenarios, with 58 located in other countries. The landing locations were chosen based upon political relationships, favorable weather, a runway at least {{convert|7500|ft|m|sigfig=2|sp=us|adj=off|abbr=on|order=flip}} long, and [[TACAN]] or [[Distance measuring equipment|DME]] equipment. Additionally, as the orbiter vehicle only had UHF radios, international sites with only VHF radios would have been unable to communicate directly with the crew. Facilities on the east coast of the US were planned for East Coast Abort Landings, while several sites in Europe and Africa were planned in the event of a Transoceanic Abort Landing. The facilities were prepared with equipment and personnel in the event of an emergency shuttle landing but were never used.<ref name=jenkins2016 />{{rp|III–19}}