White Sands Space Harbor

White Sands Test Facility (WSTF) operates the White Sands Space Harbor (WSSH), the primary training area for space shuttle pilots flying practice approaches and landings in the shuttle-training aircraft (STA) and T-38 chase aircraft. The STA is a Gulfstream II aircraft modified to mimic the flight characteristics and instrumentation on the shuttle and provides a realistic simulation of the shuttle's landing from high altitudes to touchdown. WSSH is located approximately 30 miles (50 kilometers) west of Alamogordo, NM, on the U.S. Army White Sands Missile Range.