Moffett Federal Airfield (KNUQ): Former Naval Air Station Now NASA-Run Field With Prior-Permission-Only Access
Why It MattersMoffett's restricted access keeps Silicon Valley business jet demand concentrated at nearby San Jose, Palo Alto and San Carlos airports, which offer full instrument procedures.
Moffett Federal Airfield (KNUQ) sits on the southern edge of San Francisco Bay, between Mountain View and Sunnyvale in Santa Clara County, California. A former Naval Air Station, it is now operated by NASA Ames Research Center and serves NASA, the California Air National Guard and a handful of federal and corporate tenants. Access for private aircraft is limited and requires prior permission.
The airfield has two parallel runways, each 200 feet wide: Runway 14L/32R, about 9,197 feet long, and Runway 14R/32L, about 8,121 feet long. The field averages 5 to 10 flights a day, mostly military, government, research or authorized corporate traffic.
The site's history dates to 1930, when Bay Area counties bought roughly 1,000 acres and sold them to the U.S. government for $1 to host a Navy lighter-than-air facility for the airship USS Macon. The base was commissioned as NAS Sunnyvale on April 12, 1933, and later renamed Moffett Field for Rear Admiral William A. Moffett, who died in the 1933 USS Akron disaster. After the USS Macon crashed off the California coast in 1935, the Navy shifted priorities and control briefly passed to the Army Air Corps before returning to the Navy in 1942.
For travelers visiting Silicon Valley, NASA Ames or Moffett Field, nearby airports with full instrument procedures include San Jose (KSJC), Palo Alto (KPAO) and San Carlos (KSQL). The Moffett Field Museum preserves the base's aviation and space heritage.
