Nonstop flight route between Luderitz, Namibia and Mountain View, California, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Lüderitz Airport (LUD), Luderitz, Namibia and Moffett Federal Airfield (NUQ), Mountain View, California, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 9,852 miles (or 15,855 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 Lüderitz Airport and Moffett Federal Airfield, 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 Lüderitz Airport and Moffett Federal Airfield. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!

Departure Airport Information:

Arrival Airport Information:

Facts about Lüderitz Airport (LUD):

• Because of Lüderitz Airport's relatively low elevation of 457 feet, planes can take off or land at Lüderitz 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 closest airport to Lüderitz Airport (LUD) is Alexander Bay Airport (ALJ), which is located 152 miles (245 kilometers) SSE of LUD.
• Lüderitz Airport (LUD) has 2 runways.
• Lüderitz Airport handled 15,694 passengers last year.
• The furthest airport from Lüderitz Airport (LUD) is PMRF Barking Sands (BKH), which is located 11,988 miles (19,292 kilometers) away in Kekaha, Hawaii, United States.

Facts about Moffett Federal Airfield (NUQ):

• In September 2008, NASA indicated that it was still urging the Navy to restore the hangar, but that it is willing to help save the structure.
• Moffett Federal Airfield (NUQ) has 2 runways.
• The closest airport to Moffett Federal Airfield (NUQ) is Palo Alto Airport of Santa Clara County (PAO), which is located only 5 miles (8 kilometers) NW of NUQ.
• Because of Moffett Federal Airfield's relatively low elevation of 32 feet, planes can take off or land at Moffett Federal Airfield 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.
• After the crashing of the Macon on 12 February 1935, the Navy wanted to close Moffett Field due to its high cost of operations.
• The furthest airport from Moffett Federal Airfield (NUQ) is Tôlanaro Airport (FTU), which is located 11,365 miles (18,290 kilometers) away in Tôlanaro, Madagascar.
• On 1 July 1994, NAS Moffett Field was closed as a naval air station and turned over to the NASA Ames Research Center.
• On April 16, 1942, control of the facility was returned to the Navy and it was re-commissioned as NAS Sunnyvale.
• The US Navy is evaluating options for remediating the PCBs, lead and asbestos, and NASA is evaluating options for reuse of the hangar.
• In 2008, the Ames Research Center leased 42 acres around the field to Google.