Aug 3 1985
From The Space Library
NASA announced that the governments of Chile and the U.S. signed agreements concerning use of Mataveri Airport on Isla de Pascua (Easter Island) as an emergency landing site for the Space Shuttle. The intergovernmental agreements provided the basis for contingency planning for launches of the Space Shuttle from Vandenberg Air Force Base beginning in March 1986. This planning was consistent with arrangements already in place to support launches from the Kennedy Space Center (KSC).
Space Shuttle operational planning had to provide for emergency landing options for all phases of a flight to protect the lives of the crew and the integrity of the space vehicle. The Vandenberg launches would also have a requirement (analogous to those from KSC) for one or more trans-Pacific landing sites in the Pacific Basin. Although the probability of a contingency Space Shuttle landing was extremely remote, identification and preparation of suitable contingency landing sites was consistent with prudent operational planning.
A Chilean contractor had prepared designs, in accordance with existing land use statutes and regulations on the island, for improvements at the air field that were necessary to support a Space Shuttle landing. These improvements included an extension of the existing runway and associated lighting system, construction of a storage building, and enhancement of certain permanent and temporary navigation equipment in the area. The modifications would not affect the historical treasures for which Isla de Pascua was known.
As part of the agreement, the two countries would undertake enhancement of the existing program of scientific cooperation in the exploration and use of outer space for peaceful purposes, thereby building upon a long and successful relationship of technical cooperation in this arena. (NASA Release 85117)
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