Nonstop flight route between Wallops Island, Virginia, United States and Karaganda, Kazakhstan:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Wallops Flight Facility Airport (WAL), Wallops Island, Virginia, United States and Sary-Arka Airport (KGF), Karaganda, Kazakhstan would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,091 miles (or 9,803 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 Sary-Arka 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 Sary-Arka Airport. 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 Wallops Flight Facility Airport (WAL):

• The closest airport to Wallops Flight Facility Airport (WAL) is Accomack County Airport (MFV), which is located 26 miles (42 kilometers) SW of WAL.
• 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 first payload launched into orbit from Wallops Island was Explorer IX, atop a Scout rocket, on February 15, 1961.
• 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.
• The Wallops Research Range includes ground-based and mobile systems, and a range control center.
• LCT2 is an effort to produce a relatively low-cost transceiver to allow launch vehicles to communicate through NASA's Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System after they have gone over the horizon from the launch site.
• 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.
• 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.
• In the early years, research at Wallops concentrated on obtaining aerodynamic data at transonic and low supersonic speeds.
• Weather measurements and predictions are critical to all Research Airport operations, rocket and balloon launches, and in safely conducting hazardous operations on the ground.

Facts about Sary-Arka Airport (KGF):

• The closest airport to Sary-Arka Airport (KGF) is Astana International Airport (TSE), which is located 124 miles (200 kilometers) NW of KGF.
• The furthest airport from Sary-Arka Airport (KGF) is Teniente Julio Gallardo Airfield (PNT), which is located 10,949 miles (17,621 kilometers) away in Puerto Natales, Chile.
• In addition to being known as "Sary-Arka Airport", other names for KGF include "Сарыарқа әуежайы" and "аэропорт Сары-Арка".
• Sary-Arka Airport (KGF) currently has only 1 runway.