NASA-GAMBIA CO-OPEARTION
Since September 1987, Banjul International Airport (BIA) has been among four
selected locations in the world designated as augmented emergency landing
sites and recovery locations for the United States Space Shuttle. B1A is
adjacent to the capital, 13 degrees north of the Equator, on a flat plane,
seven miles inland from the Atlantic Ocean. NASA space shuttles, launched
eastward in a ballistic trajectory over the Atlantic, fly directly over
Banjul, thus making it an ideal location for emergency landings. In
addition, The Gambia's dry season from November to May provides favourable
weather conditions, with generally good visibility for emergency landings.
But it is not only geography that has made BIA a logical choice for NASA.
The Gambian airport boasts an ultra-modem $l0-million passenger terminal, a
new nine-floor Air Traffic Control Tower, newly installed security systems,
and upgraded airfield lighting and navigation systems. The runway is over
two miles long (the third longest in Africa) and complies with all
International Civil Aviation Organisation requirements.
The next century will bring even more dramatic changes to the airport. In
June 1999, the Gambian government signed a $10-million loan agreement with
the Director-General of the Kuwaiti Fund for Arab Economic Development for
financing the Banjul International Airport Improvement Project. The project
agreement will be completed in VNO stages, ending in 2003 and 2008.
Improvements are to include civil-engineering works for the apron and
taxiways; overlay of the runway; roads, parking and fence works; and
erection of power-generation equipment as well as for the improvement of the
distribution and lighting systems. This is the fifth loan to The Gambia by
the Kuwaiti Fund to finance projects in various sectors.
The Gambia's Civil Aviation, Authority (GCAA) works closely with The United
Space Alliance, which is responsible for operating the Transoceanic Abort
Landing (TAL) sites for every -NASA shuttle mission. BIA is equipped with
state-of-the-art navigation and landing aids and an automated weather
station, as well as shuttle-specific ground support tools to assure a safe
landing in the event of an emergency during the ascent flight phase. Three
satellite circuits are used for communication, along with two commercial
Gambian telephone circuits.
During the week preceding a shuttle launch, a team of NASA mission-support
specialists and medical personnel from the United States Department of
Defence arrives in Banjul to activate the TAL site. They work closely with
BIA's twenty specially trained security officers, and with the Gambian Fire
and Rescue Service, which remains fully operational during this period. With
the time lapse between the declaration of a T AL and landing estimated at
twenty to twenty-five minutes, Gambian and U.S. personnel are trained to
work efficiently to clear the airspace and ensure a safe outcome after the
shuttle's supersonic descent from an altitude of about 360,000 feet.
With consistently high ratings from NASA, Banjul International Airport is
well on its way to assuring that The Gambia becomes the trade gateway to the
sub-region in the next century .As BIA' s Managing Director notes, "If this
airport is good enough for the space shuttle, it should be good enough for
any other airport operation."
There is a time in the life of every problem when it is big enough to see,
yet small enough to solve. -Mike- Levitt-
_________________________________________________________________
MSN Photos is the easiest way to share and print your photos:
http://photos.msn.com/support/worldwide.aspx
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L Web interface
at: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/gambia-l.html
To contact the List Management, please send an e-mail to:
[log in to unmask]
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
|
