Shuttle Training Aircraft

STA, Gulfstream II / C-11A

Mission Profile

Shuttle Training Aircraft (STA) is a heavily modified Gulfstream II business jet used by NASA to train Space Shuttle commanders in the precise manual landing technique required for the unpowered orbiter approach. The aircraft's engines were modified with thrust reversers to simulate the Shuttle's steep 20-degree glidepath and high sink rate, allowing pilots to practice the distinctive approach before making a dead-stick landing on the STA's own engines. Each Shuttle commander flew hundreds of STA training approaches before any Shuttle mission, mastering the unique handling characteristics that made Shuttle landings among the most demanding in aviation history. The STA fleet of four aircraft became surplus after the Shuttle program ended in 2011, with some transferred to museums.