Editing Edwards Air Force Base (section)

====Space Shuttle support====
{{See also|List of Space Shuttle landing sites}}
[[File:STS-126 Endeavour atop carrier aircraft.jpg|thumb|[[Space Shuttle Endeavour|Space Shuttle ''Endeavour'']] atop the [[Shuttle Carrier Aircraft]] taking off from Edwards AFB after the [[STS-126]] mission, 9 December 2008. For a complete list of Space Shuttle landing locations, see: [[List of Space Shuttle missions]].]]

After President [[Richard M. Nixon]] announced the [[Space Shuttle program]] on 5 January 1972, Edwards was chosen for [[Space Shuttle orbiter]] testing. The prototype {{OV|101}} was carried to altitude by the [[Shuttle Carrier Aircraft]] (SCA) and released. In all, 13 test flights were conducted with the Enterprise and the SCA to determine their flight characteristics and handling.

After Space Shuttle [[Space Shuttle Columbia|''Columbia'']] became the first shuttle launched into orbit on 12 April 1981, it returned to Edwards for landing. The airbase's immense lakebeds and its proximity to [[Plant 42]], where the shuttle was serviced before relaunch, were important factors in its selection and it continued to serve as the primary landing area for the space shuttle until 1991. After that time, [[Kennedy Space Center]] (KSC) in [[Florida]] was favored. This saved the considerable cost of transporting the shuttle from California back to Florida, but Edwards AFB and [[White Sands Space Harbor]] continued to serve as backups for the duration of the shuttle program. Shuttles landed at Edwards as recently as 9 August 2005 ([[STS-114]]), 22 June 2007 ([[STS-117]]), 30 November 2008 ([[STS-126]]), 24 May 2009 ([[STS-125]]), and 11 September 2009 ([[STS-128]]) due to rain and ceiling events at the KSC [[Shuttle Landing Facility]]. STS-126 was the only mission to land on temporary runway 04 at Edwards, as the refurbished main runway was operational from [[STS-119]] through to the retirement of the shuttles.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2008/11/endeavour-lands-at-edwards-to-conclude-sts-126/|title=Endeavour lands at Edwards to conclude STS-126|access-date=30 November 2008|publisher=NASASpaceflight.com|date=30 November 2008|author=Chris Bergin}}</ref>