White Sands Space Harbor
1976 - 2011

Historic American Engineering Record (HAER) Level II Documentation

From 1976 to 2011, NASA has operated and managed the White Sands Space Harbor (WSSH) for astronaut training operations and as an alternate landing facility for the Space Shuttle Program (SSP). The WSSH facility is located on the U.S. Army White Sands Missile Range (WSMR) in Dona Ana County, New Mexico, but is managed by NASA personnel located at the White Sands Test Facility (WSTF).

During the SSP retirement and transition process, the WSSH facility was permanently closed and the property was formally returned to the U.S. Army. This property transfer was a federal undertaking on federally-owned property and thus subject to compliance with Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, as amended. As part of the proposed undertaking, NASA properties would be abandoned, relocated, or demolished, which was an adverse effect to potentially historic properties.

Prior to permanently closing the WSSH, NASA performed two historic architectural surveys to document the properties and evaluate possible eligibility for listing on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP). This survey identified the WSSH Shuttle Landing Historic District, with numerous contributing properties within the district including three runway systems, control tower, landing support structures, and navigational aid systems.

To mitigate adverse effects to these historic properties, NASA consulted with the State Historic Preservation Officer, and others, and completed mitigation measures to document the district to Historic American Engineering Record (HAER) Level II standards. This HAER Level II documentation included a narrative history, large-format archival photography, and associated drawings, plans, and historic images.

The documentation provided on this website includes the completed HAER Level II documentation. This documentation was also forwarded to the National Park Service for review and concurrence, and was provided to the Library of Congress for permanent storage.

The following are all PDF documents.

White Sands Space Harbor HAER Level II documentation (complete - 20.6 MB)

White Sands Space Harbor HAER Level II documentation (individual sections)