Nonstop flight route between St. Mary's, Alaska, United States and Pituffik, Greenland:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from KSM to THU:
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- About this route
- KSM Airport Information
- THU Airport Information
- Facts about KSM
- Facts about THU
- Map of Nearest Airports to KSM
- List of Nearest Airports to KSM
- Map of Furthest Airports from KSM
- List of Furthest Airports from KSM
- Map of Nearest Airports to THU
- List of Nearest Airports to THU
- Map of Furthest Airports from THU
- List of Furthest Airports from THU
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between St. Mary's Airport (KSM), St. Mary's, Alaska, United States and Thule Air Base (THU), Pituffik, Greenland would travel a Great Circle distance of 2,193 miles (or 3,530 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 relatively short distance between St. Mary's Airport and Thule Air Base, the route shown on this map most likely still appears to be a straight line.
Departure Airport Information:
| IATA / ICAO Codes: | KSM / PASM |
| Airport Name: | St. Mary's Airport |
| Location: | St. Mary's, Alaska, United States |
| GPS Coordinates: | 62°3'38"N by 163°18'6"W |
| Operator/Owner: | Alaska DOT&PF |
| Airport Type: | Public |
| Elevation: | 312 feet (95 meters) |
| # of Runways: | 2 |
| View all routes: | Routes from KSM |
| More Information: | KSM Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
| IATA / ICAO Codes: | THU / BGTL |
| Airport Names: |
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| Location: | Pituffik, Greenland |
| GPS Coordinates: | 76°31'51"N by 68°42'11"W |
| View all routes: | Routes from THU |
| More Information: | THU Maps & Info |
Facts about St. Mary's Airport (KSM):
- Because of St. Mary's Airport's relatively low elevation of 312 feet, planes can take off or land at St. Mary's 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.
- The furthest airport from St. Mary's Airport (KSM) is Cape Town International Airport (CPT), which is located 10,494 miles (16,889 kilometers) away in Cape Town, South Africa.
- The closest airport to St. Mary's Airport (KSM) is Mountain Village Airport (MOU), which is located only 13 miles (20 kilometers) W of KSM.
- St. Mary's Airport (KSM) has 2 runways.
Facts about Thule Air Base (THU):
- Thule AB was constructed in secret under the code name Operation Blue Jay, but the project was made public in September 1952.
- Thule Air Base is home to the 21st Space Wing's global network of sensors providing missile warning, space surveillance and space control to North American Aerospace Defense Command and Air Force Space Command.
- In 1957 construction began on 4 Nike Missile sites around the base, and they and their radar systems were operational by the end of 1958.
- In addition to being known as "Thule Air Base", another name for THU is "Thule AB".
- The furthest airport from Thule Air Base (THU) is Hobart International Airport (HBA), which is located 9,883 miles (15,905 kilometers) away in Hobart, Tasmania, Australia.
- Late 1950s the DEW 1 to 4 where build as "weather stations", Thule Air Base would act as an supply station for the DYE bases.
- In 1818, Sir John Ross’s expedition made first contact with nomadic Polar Eskimos in the area.
- Thule became an Air Force Space Command base in 1982.
- In 1954, the 378 m Globecom Tower, a tower for military radio communication, was built at Northmountain.
- The closest airport to Thule Air Base (THU) is Savissivik Heliport (SVR), which is located 69 miles (111 kilometers) ESE of THU.
