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(meteorobs) Just in case you were worried...
This is an actual press release from the Kennedy Space Center:
_______ For Release:
Joel Wells Dec. 18, 1996
KSC Release No. 150 - 96
SANTA HAS NASA'S GREEN LIGHT TO USE SHUTTLE LANDING FACILITY
The Kennedy Space Center's Shuttle Landing Facility will again be
available for emergency landings by venerable old Saint Nick should
problems develop during his annual visit to the world's children. This
continues a tradition established shortly after the opening of the SLF
in the 1970s.
The SLF was completed in the late 1970s as part of the center's buildup
for Space Shuttle operations. The 15,000-foot-long, 300-foot-wide
landing strip is among the world's largest and could provide a welcome
haven for Santa Claus in the event of reindeer problems or mechanical
difficulties with his new, high-tech sleighs.
Santa has gone to high-tech, state-of-the-art sleighs in recent years
due to the increasing population of kids and the greater workload this
has imposed. His reindeer aren't getting any younger, either, and the
new, lighter sleighs are made of advanced composite materials to lighten
their burden.
Space Shuttle orbiters are guided to precision landings at the
Spaceport's SLF by a Tactical Air Navigation (TACAN) system and
Microwave Scanning Beam Landing System (MSBLSS). Santa has equipped his
new sleighs with flight units capable of establishing contact with them
should a landing here be necessary.
Other recent improvements include improved brakes, enhanced nose runner
steering and braking parachute. Santa has also incorporated stealth
technology into the new designs to reduce their radar profiles. "I have
to make deliveries in countries that are not at peace with one another,"
said Claus. "Even though the kids have behaved themselves, some of the
grown-ups' anti-aircraft guns still pose a threat to my reusable launch
vehicle."
No government expense is involved in making the SLF available to Saint
Nick on Christmas Eve. No personnel will be on duty and the automated
landing systems will be left on in the automatic mode.
Has Santa ever had to make a forced landing at KSC?
"We have no actual proof," commented an SLF manager, who spoke only
with assurances of anonymity. "But the morning after a real cold
Christmas several years ago we found a twisted sleigh runner we've never
been able to account for."
# # # #
Kevin