Editing Area 51 (section)

===U.S. government's positions on Area 51===
[[File:Usaf on area51.png|right|thumb|upright|A 1998 letter from the USAF replying to a query about Area 51]]
[[File:CIA BYE2369-67 page17.gif|right|thumb|upright|CIA document from 1967 referring to Area 51]]
The United States government has provided minimal information regarding Area 51. The area surrounding the lake is permanently off-limits to both civilian and normal military air traffic. Security clearances are checked regularly; cameras and weaponry are not allowed.<ref name="lacitis20100327">{{cite web |last=Lacitis |first=Erik |url=http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2011461015_area51vets28m.html |title=Area 51 vets break silence: Sorry, but no space aliens or UFOs |publisher=Seattle Times Newspaper |date=27 March 2010 |access-date=10 June 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120620003544/http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2011461015_area51vets28m.html |archive-date=20 June 2012 |url-status=live}}</ref> Even military pilots training in the [[Nevada Test and Training Range|NAFR]] risk disciplinary action if they stray into the exclusionary "box" surrounding Groom's airspace.<ref name="lacitis20100327"/> Surveillance is supplemented using buried motion sensors.<ref name="poulsen">{{cite web |author=Kevin Poulsen |author-link=Kevin Poulsen |date=25 May 2004 |title=Area 51 hackers dig up trouble |url=http://www.securityfocus.com/news/8768 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121130074024/http://www.securityfocus.com/news/8768 |archive-date=30 November 2012 |access-date=10 June 2013 |publisher=Securityfocus.com}}</ref> Area 51 is a common destination for [[Janet (airline)|Janet]], a small fleet of passenger aircraft operated on behalf of the Air Force to transport military personnel, primarily from [[Harry Reid International Airport]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.dreamlandresort.com/info/janet.html |title=Janet Airline / EG&G / JT3 |website=dreamlandresort.com |date=5 November 2020 |access-date=8 January 2021}}</ref>

The [[United States Geological Survey]] (USGS) topographic map for the area only shows the long-disused [[Groom Mine]],<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.topoquest.com/map.asp?lat=37.34583&lon=-115.76583&datum=nad27&u=4&layer=DRG25&size=l |title=Groom Mine, NV – N37.34583° W115.76583° |publisher=Topoquest.com |access-date=10 June 2013}}</ref> but USGS aerial photographs of the site in 1959 and 1968 were publicly available.{{r|day20230123}} A civil aviation chart published by the [[Nevada Department of Transportation]] shows a large restricted area, defined as part of the Nellis restricted airspace.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nevadadot.com/uploadedFiles/NDOT/Traveler_Info/Maps/Nevada%20Aviaton%202013-2014%20Front.pdf |title=State of Nevada Aeronautical Chart 2013-2014 |access-date=11 June 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130425161328/http://www.nevadadot.com/uploadedFiles/NDOT/Traveler_Info/Maps/Nevada%20Aviaton%202013-2014%20Front.pdf |archive-date=25 April 2013}}</ref> The [[National Atlas]] shows the area as lying within the Nellis Air Force Base.<ref name="NationalAtlasFederalLands">{{cite web |url=http://www.nationalatlas.gov/printable/images/pdf/fedlands/NV.pdf |title=Map of Federal lands in Nevada |publisher=US Department of the Interior |access-date=10 June 2013 |author=nationalatlas.gov |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130910211437/http://nationalatlas.gov/printable/images/pdf/fedlands/NV.pdf |archive-date=10 September 2013}}</ref> There are higher resolution and newer images available from other satellite imagery providers, including Russian providers and the [[IKONOS]].<ref name="FASOverhead"/> These show the runway markings, base facilities, aircraft, and vehicles.<ref name="FASOverhead"/>

In 1998 USAF officially acknowledged the site's existence.<ref name="day20230123">{{Cite web |last=Day |first=Dwayne Allen |date=2023-01-23 |title=Not-so ancient astronauts and Area 51: the Skylab Incident |url=https://www.thespacereview.com/article/4518/1 |access-date=2023-01-24 |website=The Space Review}}</ref> On 25 June 2013, the CIA released an official history of the U-2 and OXCART projects which acknowledged that the U-2 was tested at Area 51, in response to a Freedom of Information Act request submitted in 2005 by Jeffrey T. Richelson of [[George Washington University]]'s [[National Security Archive]]. It contains numerous references to Area 51 and Groom Lake, along with a map of the area.<ref name="cia1992" /> Media reports stated that releasing the CIA history was the first governmental acknowledgement of Area 51's existence;<ref>{{cite news |title=CIA acknowledges its mysterious Area 51 test site for first time |date=17 August 2013 |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-area51-cia-idUSBRE97G01120130817 |agency=Reuters Archive |access-date=17 August 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130817013201/http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/08/17/us-usa-area51-cia-idUSBRE97G01120130817 |archive-date=17 August 2013 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Area 51 officially acknowledged, mapped in newly released documents |url=http://www.cnn.com/2013/08/15/us/area-51-documents/index.html |publisher=CNN |access-date=17 August 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130817025040/http://www.cnn.com/2013/08/15/us/area-51-documents/index.html |archive-date=17 August 2013 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="LeibyWaPo" /> rather, it was the first official acknowledgement of specific activity at the site.{{r|day20230123}}