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Moffett Hangar 1 @moffetthangar1.bsky.social · 22m

England's R101 Zeppelin crashed in France on its way to India on this day in 1930.

R.101 at the mooring mast, Cardington. Completed in 1929, she struck a hillside near Beauvais, France, in 1930, and was destroyed by fire. This disaster closed the period of British experiment with rigid airships.

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Moffett Hangar 1 @moffetthangar1.bsky.social · 24m

My construction began on this day in 1931. Happy groundbreaking to me!

Farm lands with a few roads, scattered buildings, and the beginnings of a large hangar.

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Moffett Hangar 1 @moffetthangar1.bsky.social · 25m

Led Zeppelin III was released on this day in 1970. I remain confused.

Album cover of Led Zeppelin III, with scattered images of airships, airplanes, butterflies, and other seemingly random things

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Moffett Hangar 1 @moffetthangar1.bsky.social · 22/08/2026

My sibling, Hangar 2, started construction on this day in 1942. The cost was $2,592,281.28.

B&W photo of a scaffolding and cranes being used to build a sliding-door hangar.

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Moffett Hangar 1 @moffetthangar1.bsky.social · 05/08/2026

Happy birthday, Neil Armstrong, the first human to walk on the real moon, not in some giant soundstage somewhere in California.

Split image with an astronaut in a space suit standing on the moon, and a boot print in the real moon's regolith.

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Moffett Hangar 1 @moffetthangar1.bsky.social · 02/08/2026

On this day in 1947 the last blimp at KNUQ was deflated after a naughty one dunked in the Cape of Mendocino.

B&W photo of a squadron of blimps flying over a hilly landscape

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Moffett Hangar 1 @moffetthangar1.bsky.social · 20/07/2026

The Apollo 11 astronauts landed on the real moon on this day in 1969. The landing was not faked inside a giant soundstage somewhere in California. My friends at NASA Ames helped. With the real landing on the real moon.

On the left: An astronaut in a space suit standing on the moon.
On the right: the imprint of a moon boot in the dusty regolith.

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Moffett Hangar 1 @moffetthangar1.bsky.social · 14/07/2026

On this day in 1947, a small Navy blimp crashed off of Point Mendocino during a training cruise. 11 Men had to be rescued from a rubber lifeboat.

Coast Guard Saves Crew From Raft

Craft Soars Back Into Sky Empty, Wrecked At Blue Lake

EUREKA, July 14 (AP)—A small navy blimp from Moffett Field fell into the sea off Cape Mendocino late today, and the navy in San Francisco reported the 11 men aboard were rescued by the coast guard after taking to a rubber lifeboat.

The blimp, lighter after being abandoned, rose again and driftfed inland and approximately two hours after the crash, which occurred around 3:30 p.m. (PST),| the Humboldt county sheriff's office said the airship grounded near the small community of fBlue Lake, about eight miles northeast of Eureka.

Witnesses told the sheriff's office they saw the helium-filled craft drift in, nose into the side of a hill and collapse.

The blimp crashed into the sea between Cape Mendocino, some 45 miles south of here, and the Blunts Reef lightship five miles offshore.

Although the number rescued originally was reported as 9 or 10, the 12th naval district headquarters said a recheck had shown that 11 men were picked up by a coast guard boat. They were taken first to the Blunts lightship, and were to be removed later to the Humboldt Bay lifeboat station here, then flown from nearby Arcata to Moffett Field. Their names were not announced immediately.

The scene of the crash was roughly 210 airline miles north of San Franciscco.

Joseph Russ, a Capetown rancher, said he saw the blimp flying at about 400 to 500 feet altitude, when suddenly it dived into the ocean.

Through: field glasses, Russ said, he saw “the gondola part come up.” He said he could see the men get out and take to the life raft, and counted eight or nine.

Russ notified the coast guard at Eureka immediately and the lifeboat was dispatched from the lightship.

The L-type blimp, one of a series used as standard trainers, was on a routine training cruise.

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Moffett Hangar 1 @moffetthangar1.bsky.social · 08/07/2026

The LZ-127 Graf Zeppelin was christened by Ferdinand von Zeppelins daughter, Countess Helene von Brandenstein-Zeppelin, on July 8, 1928, on the 90th anniversary of his birth.

A sepia photo of a long zeppelin in the sky over long hangars in the middle of a field, with a town surrounding it.

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Moffett Hangar 1 @moffetthangar1.bsky.social · 08/07/2026

Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin was born on July 8, 1838 in Konstanz, Grand Duchy of Baden.

B&W photo of a man in a military cap, wearing a 3-piece suit and a cravat. He holds binoculars and is sporting a huge handlebar mustache.

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Moffett Hangar 1 @moffetthangar1.bsky.social · 01/07/2026

I was officially completed on this day in 1933. Many of my workers then went up the road to work on the Golden Gate Bridge.

B&W image of a large airship hangar looming over a cluster of buildings, all set among fields. A mooring mast and landing field is to the right, and mountains are in the distant background.

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Moffett Hangar 1 @moffetthangar1.bsky.social · 29/06/2026

Happy Tau day to those who celebrate. Remove the middle of me (please do not) and put my north and south doors together, and you have got a beautiful circle.

A beautiful giant airship hangar, with rounded orange-peel doors. The doors at the near end are partially opened.

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Moffett Hangar 1 @moffetthangar1.bsky.social · 15/06/2026

On this day in 1785 Pilâtre de Rozier, the first human to fly in a balloon, became the first person to die in a balloon accident. He died on June 15, 1785, when his balloon, filled with a combination of hydrogen and hot air, exploded during an attempt to fly across the English Channel.

B&W cameo portrait of a man with tied-back white hair, wearing a decorated coat and a scarf.

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Moffett Hangar 1 @moffetthangar1.bsky.social · 08/06/2026

The noisy NACA (later called NASA) wind tunnel was dedicated on this sad day in 1944.

Curved tubes snaking around a blocky building. Some cars are parked in parking lots.

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Moffett Hangar 1 @moffetthangar1.bsky.social · 13/05/2026

The USS Akron, sister ship to my beloved Macon, arrived flying mail from Lakehurst, New Jersey to my (as-yet unnamed) airfield on this day in 1932. I was not yet finished.

Airship moored on a mast in a field, with the frame of an unfinished hangar in the background.

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Moffett Hangar 1 @moffetthangar1.bsky.social · 06/05/2026

On this day in 1937, the beautiful Zeppelin Hindenburg burned in Lakewood, NJ. 35 of the 97 humans aboard perished. This is the one day a year that you are allowed to say that thing, but we wish that you would not.

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Moffett Hangar 1 @moffetthangar1.bsky.social · 23/04/2026

True, but it should show more of the hard-working hangar.

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Moffett Hangar 1 @moffetthangar1.bsky.social · 22/04/2026

On this day in 1933, my beloved USS Macon took her first flight. She would soon be journeying to me.

An airship crew poses in front of (and below) the cabin and envelope of a beautiful airship.

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Moffett Hangar 1 @moffetthangar1.bsky.social · 16/04/2026

She (the USS Macon, not Mrs. Moffett) was my inspiration. I'm envious that the Akron Airdock got to host this instead of me.

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Moffett Hangar 1 @moffetthangar1.bsky.social · 16/04/2026

Her loss was the end of my world. I never felt complete again.

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Moffett Hangar 1 @moffetthangar1.bsky.social · 16/04/2026

On this day in 1942 Moffett Field was recommissioned as a Navy airfield (from temporarily being an Army training base) under Commander Mackey.

B&W photo of 3 large airship hangars, runways, and a military base surrounded by fields.

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Moffett Hangar 1 @moffetthangar1.bsky.social · 15/04/2026

I did my first official...um...tweet on the not-yet-problematic other site on this day in 2011.

Beautiful curvy airship hangar, black on the top, white lower down, surrounded by airstrip, cars, airplanes, and boxy buildings. One of the curved "orange peel" doors is rolled open slightly.

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Moffett Hangar 1 @moffetthangar1.bsky.social · 12/04/2026

Moffett Naval Air Station was commissioned April 12, 1933, 8 days after Akron crashed, taking the life of Adm. Moffett.

Two airstrips, a beautiful hangar, and military buildings, surrounded by fields

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Moffett Hangar 1 @moffetthangar1.bsky.social · 05/04/2026

On this day in 1933 the USS Akron, sister ship to my beloved Macon, was lost in a storm off NJ. Admiral William Adger Moffett was killed in in the crash.

Sepia photograph of the USS Akron moored on the ground.

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Moffett Hangar 1 @moffetthangar1.bsky.social · 01/04/2026

Google's Planetary Ventures took over Moffett Field with a lease on this day in 2015. It is still not a joke. As part of this, they committed to restoring my skin, which was completed this year!

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Moffett Hangar 1 @moffetthangar1.bsky.social · 24/03/2026

I liked having your little but might group! You saved me! (And how did you make me look like a dirigible?)

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Moffett Hangar 1 @moffetthangar1.bsky.social · 13/03/2026

On this day in 1975, the wind blew down my (late) sibling Hangar 3's doors. This knocked a fiberglass tip from the Orion airplane, and crushed a Navy truck.

An airfield with one curved hangar in the foreground, and two greenish ones on the other side. A body of water is in the background.

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Moffett Hangar 1 @moffetthangar1.bsky.social · 12/03/2026

On this day in 1933 my beloved USS Macon was christened by Jeanette Whitton Moffett, the wife of Admiral William Moffett.

Macon's fore looms over a crowd gathered in a hangar for the airship's christening. A US flag hangs on the side of the hangar in front of windows.

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Moffett Hangar 1 @moffetthangar1.bsky.social · 03/03/2026

NACA was founded on this terrible day in 1915. They eventually built the bane of my peace, that annoying wind tunnel. Oh, yeah, they later rebranded themselves as NASA.

Buildings in an open field, connected by bulbous tubes.

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Moffett Hangar 1 @moffetthangar1.bsky.social · 02/03/2026

Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It's not. -Dr. Seuss, author and illustrator (2 Mar 1904-1991)

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Moffett Hangar 1 @moffetthangar1.bsky.social · 12/02/2026

On this day in 1935, my beloved noble USS Macon slowly sank into the sea off Pt. Sur. All but 2 of her crew survived. I never saw my beloved again. I am so empty.

B&W photo of an empty airship hangar, with the orange peel dores partly open at each end. Cars are parked in front of it.

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Moffett Hangar 1 @moffetthangar1.bsky.social · 12/02/2026

In response to the damage (on this day in 1935), Commander Wiley ordered fuel to be dropped, causing the airship to rapidly rise. The Macon's automatic valves released Helium at her 5000 ft ceiling, and she settled into the stormy surf off Pt. Sur. She is still there.

Color photo of the USS Macon among the clouds.

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Moffett Hangar 1 @moffetthangar1.bsky.social · 12/02/2026

Flying back to me on Feb. 12, 1935, the USS Macon ran into a storm over Point Sur in California's Big Sur. Wind shear tore off the upper tailfin because of an unrepaired ring girder. Rear gas cells were punctured.

B&W photo of an airship seen from directly below. The engines and propellers are clearly seen.

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Moffett Hangar 1 @moffetthangar1.bsky.social · 11/02/2026

My beloved Macon left Moffett Field on Feb. 11, 1935, the airship's 54th and final flight. The next day, as the ship was returning from her successful mission, she encountered storm winds off Point Sur, south of Monterey. I would never hold her again.

Giant airship just outside of giant airship hangar. The hangar's orange-peel doors are wide open.

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Moffett Hangar 1 @moffetthangar1.bsky.social · 10/02/2026

On this day in 2014 The US General Services Administration announced that Google's Planetary Ventures would lease Moffett field.

Aerial view of two airstrips, three beautiful elongated airship hangers, a golf course, and many small buildings.

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Moffett Hangar 1 @moffetthangar1.bsky.social · 06/02/2026

If you sail in an airship you don't need to remove select countries.

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Moffett Hangar 1 @moffetthangar1.bsky.social · 25/01/2026

Robert Boyle was born on this day in 1627. His very important law was discovered years later, although I'm sure that he applied the principles as an infant. (It's just gas.)

Etching of a bewigged man with a cravat in an oval portrait. Below is lab equipment, including a flask.

At the bottom is "The Hon[ble] Robert Boyle"

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Moffett Hangar 1 @moffetthangar1.bsky.social · 12/01/2026

On this day in '69: Led Zeppelin and Atlantic Records released “Led Zeppelin.” Is it metal, or is it a follower? I still have questions. [Also, RIP Bobby. Fare thee well.]

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Moffett Hangar 1 @moffetthangar1.bsky.social · 07/01/2026

On this day in 1785 French balloonist Jean-Pierre Blanchard & United States scientist John Jeffries were the first to fly across the English Channel.

Drawing of a spherical balloon, red on top, white banded in the middle, and green and white stripes below. A basket hangs below with 2 men in it.

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Moffett Hangar 1 @moffetthangar1.bsky.social · 06/01/2026

Pioneering balloonist Jacques-Étienne Montgolfier was born on this day in 1745.

Black & white etching of a balding man, in a large-collated white shirt and black cloak

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Moffett Hangar 1 @moffetthangar1.bsky.social · 31/12/2025

Robert Boyle died on this day in 1691. Thank you for your contributions to my existence.

Painting of a man in a maroon jacket, with his head resting on the back of his raised right hand, and his left hand has the pinkie outstretched onto an open book

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Moffett Hangar 1 @moffetthangar1.bsky.social · 20/12/2025

The groundbreaking for NACA (later renamed NASA) happened on this day in 1939, with Russel Robinson supervising. While it was lovely to get an aerospace neighbor, I did not understand at the time that it would result in that loud, obnoxious wind tunnel.

B&W aerial photo of new construction in a field adjacent to a well-established airship base with a majestic hangar.

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Moffett Hangar 1 @moffetthangar1.bsky.social · 12/12/2025

Probably true for both prices in today's dollars.

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Moffett Hangar 1 @moffetthangar1.bsky.social · 12/12/2025

On this day in 1930, it was announced that 1000 acres of the Ynigo Ranch in Mtn. View, CA would become a naval airship airfield. It was called the Sunnyvale airfield because a mountain reference might not be prudent. Communities bought 1000 acres of Ynigo Ranch for $476K, gave to Navy for $1.

Hangar and air base under construction in the middle of fields

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