AREA 51
DATE(S) VISITED: FEB 29, 2024
LOCATION: LINCOLN COUNTY, NV
As Team H headed back towards Las Vegas after our paranormal investigation at The Clown Motel in Tonopah, we made sure we headed down the Extraterrestrial Highway, and of course, to see if we could find the mysterious Area 51.
After stopping in Racheal, the nearest town to the secret installation, we were given directions on what road to take. A stop sign would be our marker, which was the un-signposted 'Back Gate Road'. This "road" was more of a gravel track and was roughly 10 miles to our destination. As you can imagine, excitement mixed with a little anticipation, and fear was going through us, but we kept going until we could go no further, that being greeted by the high security checkpoint of The Back Gate.
Area 51 is the common name of a highly classified United States Air Force (USAF) facility within the Nevada Test and Training Range. A remote detachment administered by Edwards Air Force Base, the facility is officially called Homey Airport (ICAO: KXTA, FAA LID: XTA) or Groom Lake (after the salt flat next to its airfield). Details of its operations are not made public, but the USAF says that it is an open training range, and it is commonly thought to support the development and testing of experimental aircraft and weapons systems. The USAF and CIA acquired the site in 1955, primarily for flight testing the Lockheed U-2 aircraft. Over the years, other well-known aircraft has been tested here, including the Archangel-12, the SR-71 Blackbird and the F-117 Nighthawk stealth fighter.
The intense secrecy surrounding the base has made it the frequent subject of conspiracy theories and a central component of unidentified flying object (UFO) folklore. These theories about Area 51 blossomed in the late 1980's when Bob Lazar, who allegedly worked at the installation, claimed the U.S. government was auditing recovered alien aircraft. Over the years, other theories include Area 51 being used for weather manipulation, the development of energy weapons and exotic propulsion systems as well as the storage and reverse engineering of alien spacecraft.
Very little information is available from the government regarding Area 51. It has never been declared a secret base, but all research and occurrences are Top Secret/Sensitive Compartmented Information (TS/SCI). The CIA publicly acknowledged the base's existence on 25 June 2013, following a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request filed in 2005 and declassified documents detailing its history and purpose.
While the origin of the name is unclear the general belief is that Area 51 was part of an Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) numbering grid, however, Area 51 does not belong to this system. It has also been suggested that the number 51 was used because the AEC would not need it for the grid system.
Area 51 is located in the southern portion of Nevada, 83 miles (134 km) north-northwest of Las Vegas. The surrounding area is a popular tourist destination, including the small town of Rachel which lies on the Extraterrestrial Highway.
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