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From: eder@hsvaic.boeing.com (Dani Eder)
Newsgroups: sci.space.shuttle
Subject: Re: Shuttle Landing Strip
Message-ID: <287@hsvaic.boeing.com>
Date: 21 May 91 20:50:55 GMT
References: <3218.282A166A@ofa123.fidonet.org> <32726@usc> <1991May10.135453.509@magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu>
Organization: Boeing AI Center, Huntsville, AL
Lines: 18

In article <1991May10.135453.509@magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu> mboone@magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu (Michael B Boone) writes:
>
>I believe that it is because Kennedy often has strong crosswinds on the
>landing strip, where Edwards doesn't.  I think that the commission that
>reviewed the Challenger accident also recommended that Edwards be used to
>cut down on any risk or landing difficulty.
>

Has anyone on the NET ever wondered why the Space Shuttle landing strip
was built NOT pointing into the prevailing winds? Or if the winds
are variable, why didn't they build more than one runway to cover
different wind directions, like some airports do?

Or why they didn't extend the already existing runway called the 
'Skid Strip', on the Air Force side of the launch siter, which was
already 10000 ft long ( the Shuttle runway is 15000 ft long).  The
skid strip points in almost the same direction as the Shuttle landing
strip.