Nonstop flight route between Wallops Island, Virginia, United States and Mercury, Nevada, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Wallops Flight Facility Airport (WAL), Wallops Island, Virginia, United States and Yucca Airstrip (UCC), Mercury, Nevada, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 2,209 miles (or 3,555 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 Wallops Flight Facility Airport and Yucca Airstrip, the route shown on this map most likely still appears to be a straight line.

Departure Airport Information:

Arrival Airport Information:

Facts about Wallops Flight Facility Airport (WAL):

• 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.
• Major Wallops facilities include FAA-certified runways.
• 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.
• The closest airport to Wallops Flight Facility Airport (WAL) is Accomack County Airport (MFV), which is located 26 miles (42 kilometers) SW of WAL.
• AFSS is a project to develop an autonomous on-board system that could augment or replace traditional ground-commanded Range Safety flight termination systems.
• For many years WFF was home to the NSIP Sub-SEM and SEM projects.
• 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 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 Yucca Airstrip (UCC):

• In addition to being known as "Yucca Airstrip", another name for UCC is "NV11".
• The asphalt runway was constructed in 2002 as part of an unmanned aerial vehicle test facility.
• The closest airport to Yucca Airstrip (UCC) is Desert Rock Airport (DRA), which is located 23 miles (36 kilometers) S of UCC.
• The furthest airport from Yucca Airstrip (UCC) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 11,249 miles (18,103 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
• Yucca Airstrip (UCC) has 2 runways.