Nonstop flight route between Wallops Island, Virginia, United States and Monkey Mia, Western Australia, Australia:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from WAL to MJK:
Share this route:
Jump to:
- About this route
- WAL Airport Information
- MJK Airport Information
- Facts about WAL
- Facts about MJK
- Map of Nearest Airports to WAL
- List of Nearest Airports to WAL
- Map of Furthest Airports from WAL
- List of Furthest Airports from WAL
- Map of Nearest Airports to MJK
- List of Nearest Airports to MJK
- Map of Furthest Airports from MJK
- List of Furthest Airports from MJK
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Wallops Flight Facility Airport (WAL), Wallops Island, Virginia, United States and Shark Bay Airport (MJK), Monkey Mia, Western Australia, Australia would travel a Great Circle distance of 11,451 miles (or 18,429 kilometers).
A Great Circle is the shortest distance between 2 points on a sphere. Because most world maps are flat (but the Earth is round), the route of the shortest distance between 2 points on the Earth will often appear curved when viewed on a flat map, especially for long distances. If you were to simply draw a straight line on a flat map and measure a very long distance, it would likely be much further than if you were to lay a string between those two points on a globe. Because of the large distance between Wallops Flight Facility Airport and Shark Bay Airport, the route shown on this map most likely appears curved because of this reason.
Try it at home! Get a globe and tightly lay a string between Wallops Flight Facility Airport and Shark Bay Airport. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!
Departure Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | WAL / KWAL |
Airport Name: | Wallops Flight Facility Airport |
Location: | Wallops Island, Virginia, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 37°56'24"N by 75°27'59"W |
Elevation: | 0 feet (0 meters) |
View all routes: | Routes from WAL |
More Information: | WAL Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | MJK / YSHK |
Airport Name: | Shark Bay Airport |
Location: | Monkey Mia, Western Australia, Australia |
GPS Coordinates: | 25°53'35"S by 113°34'36"E |
Operator/Owner: | Shire of Shark Bay |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 111 feet (34 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from MJK |
More Information: | MJK Maps & Info |
Facts about Wallops Flight Facility Airport (WAL):
- The first payload launched into orbit from Wallops Island was Explorer IX, atop a Scout rocket, on February 15, 1961.
- Since 2001, engineers at NASA Wallops Flight Facility have been developing new range technologies, systems and approaches to improve the cost and responsiveness of launch and flight test activities, within the constraints of available funding and program schedules.
- Because of Wallops Flight Facility Airport's relatively low elevation of 0 feet, planes can take off or land at Wallops Flight Facility Airport at a lower air speed than at airports located at a higher elevation. This is because the air density is higher closer to sea level than it would otherwise be at higher elevations.
- AFSS is a project to develop an autonomous on-board system that could augment or replace traditional ground-commanded Range Safety flight termination systems.
- In 1998, the Virginia Commercial Space Flight Authority, later joined by Maryland, built the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport at Wallops on land leased from NASA.
- The closest airport to Wallops Flight Facility Airport (WAL) is Accomack County Airport (MFV), which is located 26 miles (42 kilometers) SW of WAL.
- The Wallops Research Range includes ground-based and mobile systems, and a range control center.
- The WFF mobile range assets have been used to support rocket launches from locations in the Arctic and Antarctic regions, South America, Africa, Europe, Australia, and at sea.
- The furthest airport from Wallops Flight Facility Airport (WAL) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,785 miles (18,965 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
Facts about Shark Bay Airport (MJK):
- The furthest airport from Shark Bay Airport (MJK) is JAGS McCartney International Airport (GDT), which is nearly antipodal to Shark Bay Airport (meaning Shark Bay Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from JAGS McCartney International Airport), and is located 12,008 miles (19,325 kilometers) away in Grand Turk Island, Turks and Caicos Islands.
- Shark Bay Airport (MJK) currently has only 1 runway.
- The closest airport to Shark Bay Airport (MJK) is Carnarvon Airport (CVQ), which is located 70 miles (113 kilometers) N of MJK.
- Because of Shark Bay Airport's relatively low elevation of 111 feet, planes can take off or land at Shark Bay Airport at a lower air speed than at airports located at a higher elevation. This is because the air density is higher closer to sea level than it would otherwise be at higher elevations.