Mar 8 1988
From The Space Library
NASA announced that preparations were under way to bring on line two new Space Shuttle abort-landing sites in northwestern Africa. These sites would be used as contingency landing facilities in the event of a transatlantic abort during the launch of STS-26 and subsequent missions. The new sites would be located at Ben Guerir (40 miles north of Marrakech), Morocco, and Banjul, The Gambia.
With the addition of these new sites, and the continued use of sites at Zaragoza Air Base and Moron Air Base in Spain, the total number of transatlantic abort sites came to four. The Ben Guerin, Banjul, and Moron sites would be staffed with 30 to 40 NASA and contractor personnel during the launch of STS-26. Robert Fleming, program manager for the contingency landing site program at Kennedy Space Center, said, "These sites must be operational and all requirements met in time for the next mission. We hope we never have to use them. But they will be ready." (NASA Release 88-34)
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