Area 51 in Nevada

Sunday, 12 February 2023 - 11:00 am (CET/MEZ) Berlin | Author/Destination:
Category/Kategorie: General
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'No Photography' photo © David James Henry/cc-by-sa-4.0

‘No Photography’ photo © David James Henry/cc-by-sa-4.0

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.

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. It has never been declared a secret base, but all research and occurrences in Area 51 are Top Secret/Sensitive Compartmented Information (TS/SCI). The CIA publicly acknowledged the base’s existence on June 25, 2013, following a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request filed in 2005 and declassified documents detailing its history and purpose.

Main gate on Groom Road © David James Henry/cc-by-sa-4.0 'No Photography' photo © David James Henry/cc-by-sa-4.0 viewed from distant Tikaboo Peak © Geckow Groom Lake and Papoose Lake, both in the Nevada Test and Training Range © flickr.com - Doc Searls/cc-by-2.0 Groom Lake Road © Geckow Area 51 border and warning sign © flickr.com - X51/cc-by-sa-3.0
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Groom Lake and Papoose Lake, both in the Nevada Test and Training Range © flickr.com - Doc Searls/cc-by-2.0
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 on the “Extraterrestrial Highway“.

Read more on Wikipedia Area 51 (Smart Traveler App by U.S. Department of State - Weather report by weather.com - Global Passport Power Rank - Travel Risk Map - Democracy Index - GDP according to IMF, UN, and World Bank - Global Competitiveness Report - Corruption Perceptions Index - Press Freedom Index - World Justice Project - Rule of Law Index - UN Human Development Index - Global Peace Index - Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Index). Photos by Wikimedia Commons. If you have a suggestion, critique, review or comment to this blog entry, we are looking forward to receive your e-mail at comment@wingsch.net. Please name the headline of the blog post to which your e-mail refers to in the subject line.




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