Editing Area 51 (section)

==UFO and other conspiracy theories==

[[File:Protest Sign at Raid Area 51.jpg|thumb|During the [[Storm Area 51|2019 Raid of Area 51]], protestors and UFO conspiracy theorists gathered at the back gate of Area 51.]]

Area 51 has become a focus of modern conspiracy theories due to its secretive nature and connection to classified aircraft research.{{sfn|Jacobsen|2012|pp=65–66, 77–80}} Theories include:
* The storage, examination, and reverse engineering of crashed alien spacecraft, including material supposedly recovered at [[Roswell UFO incident|Roswell]], the study of their occupants, and the manufacture of aircraft based on alien technology
* Meetings or joint undertakings with extraterrestrials
* The development of exotic [[Directed-energy weapon|energy weapons]] for the [[Strategic Defense Initiative]] (SDI) or other weapons programs
* The development of weather control
* The development of time travel and teleportation technology
* The development of exotic propulsion systems related to the [[Aurora (aircraft)|Aurora Program]]
* Activities related to the conspiracy theory of a [[New World Order (conspiracy theory)|one-world government]]

[[File:TV camera area 51.JPG|thumb|left|A closed-circuit TV camera watches over the perimeter of Area 51.]]

Many of the hypotheses concern underground facilities at Groom or at [[Papoose Lake]] (also known as "S-4 location"), {{convert|8.5|mi|km}} south, and include claims of a transcontinental underground railroad system, a disappearing airstrip nicknamed the "Cheshire Airstrip", after [[Lewis Carroll]]'s [[Cheshire cat]], which briefly appears when water is sprayed onto its camouflaged asphalt, and engineering based on alien technology.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.serve.com/mahood/nellis/area19/cheshire.htm |title=The Cheshire Airstrip |first=Tom |last=Mahood |date=October 1996 |access-date=2 April 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060316110233/http://www.serve.com/mahood/nellis/area19/cheshire.htm |archive-date=16 March 2006}}</ref>

In the mid-1950s, civilian aircraft flew under 20,000 feet while military aircraft flew up to 40,000 feet. The U-2 began flying above 60,000 feet and there was an increasing number of UFO sighting reports. Sightings occurred most often during early evening hours, when airline pilots flying west saw the U-2's silver wings reflect the setting sun, giving the aircraft a "fiery" appearance. Many sighting reports came to the Air Force's [[Project Blue Book]], which investigated UFO sightings, through air-traffic controllers and letters to the government. The project checked U-2 and later [[OXCART]] flight records to eliminate the majority of UFO reports that it received during the late 1950s and 1960s, although it could not reveal to the letter writers the truth behind what they saw.<ref name="cia1992" />{{rp|72–73}} Similarly, veterans of experimental projects such as OXCART at Area 51 agree that their work inadvertently prompted many of the UFO sightings and other rumors:{{sfn|Jacobsen|2012|pp=204–208}}
{{blockquote|The shape of OXCART was unprecedented, with its wide, disk-like fuselage designed to carry vast quantities of fuel. Commercial pilots cruising over Nevada at dusk would look up and see the bottom of OXCART whiz by at 2,000-plus mph. The aircraft's titanium body, moving as fast as a bullet, would reflect the sun's rays in a way that could make anyone think, ''UFO''.<ref name=autogenerated1>{{cite news |last=Jacobsen |first=Annie |url=http://www.latimes.com/la-mag-april052009-backstory,0,786384.story |title=The Road to Area 51 |newspaper=Los Angeles Times |date=5 April 2009 |access-date=10 June 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120121215002/http://www.latimes.com/la-mag-april052009-backstory,0,786384.story |archive-date=21 January 2012 |url-status=live}}</ref>}}

They believe that the rumors helped maintain secrecy over Area 51's actual operations.<ref name="lacitis20100327"/> The veterans deny the existence of a vast underground railroad system,<ref name=autogenerated1 /> although many of Area 51's operations did occur underground.{{sfn|Jacobsen|2012|pp=364–366}}

[[File:Lincoln County Deputies at Area 51 Back Gate.jpg|thumb|Lincoln County deputies guard the back gate of Area 51 during the 2019 raid.]]

[[Bob Lazar]] claimed in 1989 that he had worked at Area 51's "Sector Four (S-4)", said to be located underground inside the [[Papoose Range]] near Papoose Lake. He claimed that he was contracted to work with alien spacecraft that the government had in its possession.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Knapp|first1=George|author1-link=George Knapp (television journalist)|title=Bob Lazar describes alien technology housed at secret S-4 base in Nevada |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4UjqFaQq_7I |website=youtube.com |publisher=[[KLAS-TV]] |language=en |format=video |date=November 10, 1989}}</ref> Similarly, the 1996 documentary ''Dreamland'' directed by [[Bruce Burgess]] included an interview with a 71-year-old mechanical engineer who claimed to be a former employee at Area 51 during the 1950s. His claims included that he had worked on a "flying disc simulator" which had been based on a disc originating from a crashed extraterrestrial craft and was used to train pilots. He also claimed to have worked with an extraterrestrial being named "J-Rod" and described as a "telepathic translator".<ref>''Dreamland'', Transmedia and Dandelion Production for Sky Television (1996).</ref> In 2004, Dan Burisch (pseudonym of Dan Crain) claimed to have worked on cloning alien viruses at Area 51, also alongside the alien named "J-Rod". Burisch's scholarly credentials are the subject of much debate, as he was apparently working as a Las Vegas parole officer in 1989 while also earning a PhD at [[State University of New York]] (SUNY).<ref>{{cite journal |url=http://www.csicop.org/si/2004-11/ |publisher=Committee for Skeptical Inquiry |journal=Skeptical Inquirer |volume=28 |issue=6 |date=November–December 2004 |first=Robert |last=Sheaffer |title=Tunguska 1, Roswell 0 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090313001822/http://www.csicop.org/si/2004-11/ |archive-date=13 March 2009 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

In July 2019, more than 2,000,000 people responded to a [[Storm Area 51|joke proposal to storm Area 51]] which appeared in an anonymous Facebook post.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.cnet.com/news/1-7-million-want-to-raid-area-51-to-see-them-aliens/ |title=1.7 million want to raid Area 51 to 'see them aliens' |first=Daniel |last=van Boom |date=18 July 2019 |access-date=23 July 2019 |publisher=[[CNET News]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/science/2019/jul/16/storm-area-51-internet-meme-facebook-event |title=1.5 million people have signed up to storm Area 51. What could go wrong? |first=Adrienne |last=Matei |newspaper=The Guardian |date=17 July 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/news/storm-area-51-when-where-aliens-military-base-raid-facebook-event-a9005546.html |title=Storm Area 51: Are Alien-hunters Really Planning to 'Raid' the Secret U.S. Military Base? |first=Andrew |last=Griffin |newspaper=The Independent |date=17 July 2019}}</ref> The event, scheduled for 20 September 2019, was billed as "Storm Area 51, They Can't Stop All of Us", an attempt to "see them aliens".<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/science/2019/jul/16/storm-area-51-internet-meme-facebook-event |title=1.3 million people have signed up to storm Area 51. What could go wrong? |last=Matei |first=Adrienne |date=16 July 2019 |newspaper=The Guardian |access-date=2019-07-16 |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://m.facebook.com/events/area-51/storm-area-51-they-cant-stop-all-of-us/448435052621047/ |title=Storm Area 51, They Can't Stop All of Us |website=m.facebook.com |access-date=2019-07-25}}</ref> Air Force spokeswoman Laura McAndrews said the government "would discourage anyone from trying to come into the area where we train American armed forces".<ref name="McAndrewsWaPo"/> Two music festivals in rural Nevada, AlienStock and Storm Area 51 Basecamp, were subsequently organized to capitalize on the popularity of the original Facebook event. Between 1,500 and 3,000 people showed up at the festivals, while over 150 people made the journey over several miles of rough roads to get near the gates to Area 51.<ref name=":0">{{Cite news |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-area51/in-nevada-desert-area-51-raid-lures-festive-ufo-hunters-three-arrested-idUSKBN1W51H6 |title=Area 51 raid lures festive UFO hunters to Nevada desert; five arrested |last=Richwine |first=Lisa |date=September 20, 2019 |work=Reuters |access-date=September 22, 2019}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{cite web |last=Zialcita |first=Paolo |title='Storm Area 51' Fails To Materialize |url=https://www.npr.org/2019/09/20/762897934/storm-area-51-fails-to-materialize |website=NPR |access-date=September 21, 2019 |date=September 20, 2019}}</ref> Seven people were reportedly arrested at the event.<ref name=":0" />