Ben Guerir Air Base

Infobox Airport
name = Ben Guerir Air Base


image-width = 300
IATA =
ICAO =
type = Military
owner =
operator = Royal Moroccan Air Force
city-served =
location = Ben Guerir, Morocco
elevation-f = 1400
elevation-m = 430
coordinates = 32°7'50" N, 7°54'39" W
r1-number = 18/36
r1-length-f = 13,720
r1-length-m = 4182
r1-surface = Asphalt

Ben Guerir Air Base is a former United States Air Force base in Morocco, later operated by the Royal Moroccan Air Force, which served as a Transatlantic Abort Landing (TAL) site for the Space Shuttle. It is located about convert|36|mi|km north of Marrakech.

Ben Guerir was established in 1951 by the Strategic Air Command (SAC), one of five bases constructed in northwest Africa for the SAC during a "crash program" beginning in 1950. [cite news
title = The American Invasion
work = TIME Magazine
publisher = Time, Inc.
date = March 31, 1952
url = http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,935584-1,00.html
accessdate = ] The base was located to allow rapid deployment of nuclear-armed B-47 Stratojets, without requiring aerial refueling. KC-97 Stratotankers were also deployed from the base. SAC occupied the base until 1962.cite web
last = Pike
first = John
title = Ben Guerir Air Base, Morocco
work = Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD)
publisher = GlobalSecurity.org
date = 2005-04-27
url = http://www.globalsecurity.org/wmd/facility/ben_guerir.htm
accessdate = 2007-03-10 ]

The base was designated as a TAL site for the Space Shuttle in July 1988, replacing the former TAL site at Casablanca. The site was chosen largely for its location near the nominal ground track of the shuttle orbiter for a mid-range inclination launch, meaning a diversion to the TAL site would allow for efficient use of fuel.cite web
title = Space Shuttle Transoceanic Abort Landing (TAL) Sites
work = NASAfacts
publisher = National Aeronautics and Space Administration
date = December 2006
url = http://www-pao.ksc.nasa.gov/kscpao/nasafact/pdf/TALsites-06.pdf
format = PDF
doi =
accessdate = 2007-03-10 ]

The base has one runway, oriented in a North-South direction. The runway is convert|200|ft|m wide, with convert|25|ft|m|sing=on shoulders, and convert|13720|ft|m long, with a convert|1000|ft|m|sing=on underrun and a convert|2500|ft|m|sing=on compacted dirt overrun, for a total length of convert|15720|ft|m. During renovation by NASA in 1988, the runway was equipped with shuttle-unique landing aids, including a Microwave Landing System and Tactical Air Control and Navigation (TACAN) system. [cite web
title = Space Shuttle Transoceanic Abort Landing (TAL) Sites
work = NASA Facts Online
publisher = National Aeronautics and Space Administration
date = 2006-12-18
url = http://www-pao.ksc.nasa.gov/nasafact/talmor.htm
accessdate = 2007-03-10 ]

Ben Guerir last served as a TAL site for STS-111 in June 2002. The shuttle for that mission eventually landed at Edwards Air Force Base. The base was deactivated in 2005, after supporting 83 shuttle missions, due to concerns about its vulnerability to terrorism.

References

External links

* [http://www.airliners.net/open.file/1048929/M/ Ben Guerir Air Base at Airliners.net]
*http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewsr.html?pid=7029
*http://www.aerospaceweb.org/question/spacecraft/q0278.shtml