NASA's Space Shuttle
Diversion Site

For over 10 years now RAF Fairford has been a "Trans Oceanic Abort Landing" (TAL) site for NASA's orbital vehicle, the Space Shuttle, and is now the only NASA diversion site in the UK. Previously RAF Upper Heyford was also a divert site.

As well as having a long runway for an abort landing Fairford has NASA trained fire and medical crews on site ready to deal with a shuttle landing.

The decision to divert to Fairford would depend on the vehicle's launch angle/inclination and the suitability of other diversion sites. 

In recent years with most shuttle missions heading for the International Space Station Fairford has seen more than its usual share of 'standbys'.







 

The shuttle would make it's landing approach approximately 35 minutes after launch having jettisoned the booster rockets, dumped as much internal fuel and propellants as possible and configured itself for landing. An emergency clearance corridor through England's air traffic would be opened up allowing the shuttle to glide supersonically towards Fairford. Unlike normal air vehicles it would have no engines or thrust available to it, all movements would be at the expense of airspeed, a finite resource that has to last until touchdown. There would also only be one attempt at the approach, it would have to be right first time, although it is something that is well practiced by the shuttle pilots in NASA's simulators.



 



The runway requirements for an aborted landing are around 9000 feet and with Fairford's runway at 10,000 feet the shuttle's computers would touch it down at the start of the runway to allow it to use every inch of tarmac.  With an approach speed of 250 knots the computers would also use the brakes and braking chute to maximum effect aiming to slow the Shuttle down in the same distance as a normal aircraft would use.

 



Once the vehicle has stopped the area is made a bio control zone with medical staff responsible for sampling air quality and looking for signs of personnel contamination. The shuttle would begin "venting", a process where fuel tanks and the crew compartment are depressurised to reduce the risk of an explosion, the same as many other aircraft would do.  Light signals between rescue and shuttle crews would determine whether an assisted emergency egress is needed or a slower and less dramatic exit is easier.

 



The biggest hazard to the rescue crew would be some of the chemicals the Shuttle carries.  With space being a vacuum the propellants are designed to burn without oxygen or have their own source making any attempts to extinguish them difficult.  With the impact of a crash landing being so strong care would also need to be taken with the internal tanks, although the very nature of the Shuttle's mission means these tanks are a lot stronger than usual.


Although the Shuttle is an unusual aircraft for Fairford to deal with NASA only make the base a diversion site because of the preparation and training they have given people at Fairford.  Regular exercises, training courses in the US and visits by NASA officials mean nothing would come as a surprise to the people at RAF Fairford should the Shuttle ever appear and once it had landed a world class recovery effort would get the crew to safety.  The same applies for the Shuttle's crew, they are trained in simulators and training aircraft to land the Shuttle away from home safely and have practiced such landings many times.

 
After the landing area has been made safe NASA would then begin to arrange transfer of the shuttle back to America. Several cranes would be bought in to lift dismantled parts of the shuttle on the back of a special 747 before they are carried back to Edwards AFB for repair and re-assembly.
Images and diagrams were from NASA's web.