Nonstop flight route between Wallops Island, Virginia, United States and Los Negros Island, Admiralty Islands, Papua New Guinea:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Wallops Flight Facility Airport (WAL), Wallops Island, Virginia, United States and Momote Airport (MAS), Los Negros Island, Admiralty Islands, Papua New Guinea would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,764 miles (or 14,104 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 Momote 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 Momote 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):

• Early research rockets at Wallops Island
• The Wallops Research Range includes ground-based and mobile systems, and a range control center.
• In 1945, NASA's predecessor agency, the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics, established a rocket launch site on Wallops Island under the direction of the Langley Research Center.
• 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 first payload launched into orbit from Wallops Island was Explorer IX, atop a Scout rocket, on February 15, 1961.
• The closest airport to Wallops Flight Facility Airport (WAL) is Accomack County Airport (MFV), which is located 26 miles (42 kilometers) SW of WAL.
• On September 6, 2013, the Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer was launched from Wallops, atop a Minotaur V rocket.
• 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.
• 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.

Facts about Momote Airport (MAS):

• The closest airport to Momote Airport (MAS) is Emirau Airport (EMI), which is located 179 miles (287 kilometers) E of MAS.
• After liberating the airfield on 2 March 1944, the 40th Naval Construction Battalion repaired the airfield and the airfield became operational on 18 May 1944, although fighters were landing at the airfield only two days after occupation.
• Because of Momote Airport's relatively low elevation of 12 feet, planes can take off or land at Momote 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.
• Momote Airport (MAS) currently has only 1 runway.
• Momote Airport is an airport on Los Negros Island in the Admiralty Islands, Papua New Guinea.
• The furthest airport from Momote Airport (MAS) is Governador Carlos Wilson Airport (FEN), which is nearly antipodal to Momote Airport (meaning Momote Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Governador Carlos Wilson Airport), and is located 12,028 miles (19,357 kilometers) away in Fernando de Noronha, Pernambuco, Brazil.