White Sands Space Harbor (former Shuttle landing site)

E96945

Space Shuttle landing site runway complex spaceport

White Sands Space Harbor is a runway complex in New Mexico that served as an alternate landing site for NASA’s Space Shuttle program.

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All labels observed (2)

Label	Occurrences
White Sands Space Harbor	9
White Sands Space Harbor (former Shuttle landing site) canonical	1

How this entity was disambiguated

This entity first appeared as the object of triple T771182 — resolving that mention is where its identity was fixed. The disambiguator weighed these candidate entities and picked the highlighted one (or “None”, minting a new entity). This is how homonymy is resolved: the same surface form can point to different entities.

NED1 Entity disambiguation (via context triple) gpt-5-mini-2025-08-07

Target entity: White Sands Space Harbor (former Shuttle landing site)
Context triple: [White Sands Missile Range, hasRunway, White Sands Space Harbor (former Shuttle landing site)]

A. Kennedy Space Center Shuttle Landing Facility
The Kennedy Space Center Shuttle Landing Facility is a specialized runway complex in Florida designed for the return and landing of NASA’s Space Shuttle orbiters and other aerospace vehicles.
B. Mojave Air and Space Port
Mojave Air and Space Port is a civilian aerospace test center and spaceflight hub in California known for experimental aircraft development and commercial spaceflight activities.
C. Cape Canaveral LC-41
Cape Canaveral LC-41 is a launch complex at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida, historically used for major NASA and interplanetary missions.
D. Launch Complex 39C
Launch Complex 39C is a small launch pad at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center designed to support launches of small-class commercial and government rockets.
E. White Sands Missile Range
White Sands Missile Range is a major U.S. Army testing facility in southern New Mexico known for missile and weapons testing and as the site of the first atomic bomb detonation.
F. None of above. chosen
G. Unsure - the case is ambiguous/there is not enough information to decide.

NED2 Entity disambiguation (via description) gpt-5-mini-2025-08-07

Target entity: White Sands Space Harbor (former Shuttle landing site)
Target entity description: White Sands Space Harbor is a runway complex in New Mexico that served as an alternate landing site for NASA’s Space Shuttle program.

A. Kennedy Space Center Shuttle Landing Facility
The Kennedy Space Center Shuttle Landing Facility is a specialized runway complex in Florida designed for the return and landing of NASA’s Space Shuttle orbiters and other aerospace vehicles.
B. Mojave Air and Space Port
Mojave Air and Space Port is a civilian aerospace test center and spaceflight hub in California known for experimental aircraft development and commercial spaceflight activities.
C. Cape Canaveral LC-41
Cape Canaveral LC-41 is a launch complex at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida, historically used for major NASA and interplanetary missions.
D. Launch Complex 39C
Launch Complex 39C is a small launch pad at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center designed to support launches of small-class commercial and government rockets.
E. White Sands Missile Range
White Sands Missile Range is a major U.S. Army testing facility in southern New Mexico known for missile and weapons testing and as the site of the first atomic bomb detonation.
F. None of above. chosen

Statements (48)

Predicate	Object
instanceOf	Space Shuttle landing site ⓘ runway complex ⓘ spaceport ⓘ
alternativeTo	Edwards Air Force Base ⓘ Kennedy Space Center Shuttle Landing Facility ⓘ
builtFor	Space Shuttle program ⓘ linked to: NASA Space Shuttle program
country	United States of America ⓘ
designedFor	Space Shuttle emergency landings ⓘ orbiter landing tests ⓘ
elevation	approximately 1,200 meters above sea level ⓘ
environment	dry lakebed ⓘ high desert ⓘ
hasCode	WSH ⓘ
hasLighting	portable runway lighting systems ⓘ
hasNavigationAid	TACAN ⓘ microwave landing system ⓘ visual approach slope indicators ⓘ
hasRunway	02/20 ⓘ 17/35 ⓘ 23/05 ⓘ
locatedIn	Chihuahuan Desert ⓘ Dona Ana County, New Mexico ⓘ New Mexico ⓘ White Sands Missile Range area ⓘ linked to: White Sands Missile Range White Sands Test Facility ⓘ linked to: NASA White Sands Test Facility
locatedOn	gypsum playa ⓘ
missionLandingDate	30 March 1982 ⓘ
near	Alamogordo, New Mexico ⓘ linked to: Alamogordo Las Cruces, New Mexico ⓘ White Sands National Park ⓘ
notableEvent	landing of Space Shuttle Columbia STS-3 ⓘ
operatedBy	NASA Johnson Space Center ⓘ linked to: Johnson Space Center
operator	NASA ⓘ
ownedBy	United States government ⓘ
partOf	NASA Space Shuttle program ⓘ
primaryRunwayLength	about 15,000 feet ⓘ
runwayOrientation	northeast–southwest ⓘ northwest–southeast ⓘ north–south ⓘ
safetyFeature	flat open terrain ⓘ wide overrun areas ⓘ
status	former Shuttle landing site ⓘ inactive for Space Shuttle operations ⓘ
surfaceType	compacted gypsum ⓘ
use	Shuttle carrier aircraft operations ⓘ alternate landing site for Space Shuttle ⓘ training runway for Shuttle pilots ⓘ
usedForMission	STS-3 ⓘ

How these facts were elicited