Originally Posted by
chevvron
Shuttle standby landing sites were initially at Banjul (The Gambia) and later Torrejon (Spain). Shuttle launch trajectories would have come nowhere near the UK.
The mate / de-mate rig was at Banjul in the late '80s before it was relocated to Dakar IIRC (or it was nicked). There were designated alternates at Fairford, Shannon and as far north as Arlanda. The Iberian peninsula had a number of designated strips including Beja, Moron, Zaragosa and Rota.
Launch profile 3B was never flown, but would have crossed the arctic circles.