Area 51: Difference between revisions

| nearest_town          = [[Rachel, Lincoln County, Nevada]]

| country                = United States

| alt                    = A satellite image taken in 2022 captured by Sentinel-2 of ESA showing the base with Groom Lake just to the north-northeast

| caption                = A [[satellite image]] taken in 2022 captured by [[Sentinel-2]] of [[ESA]] showing the base with Groom Lake just to the north-northeast

==Geography==

===Area 51===

The original rectangular base of {{convert|6|by|10|mi|km|0}} is now part of the so-called "Groom box", a rectangular area, measuring {{convert|23|by|25|mi|km}}, of restricted airspace. The area is connected to the internal [[Nevada Test Site]] (NTS) road network, with paved roads leading south to [[Mercury, Nevada|Mercury]] and west to [[Yucca Flat]]. Leading northeast from the lake, the wide and well-maintained Groom Lake Road runs through a pass in the Jumbled Hills. The road formerly led to mines in the Groom basin but has been improved since their closure. Its winding course runs past a security checkpoint, but the restricted area around the base extends farther east. After leaving the restricted area, Groom Lake Road descends eastward to the floor of the [[Tikaboo Valley]], passing the dirt-road entrances to several small ranches, before converging with [[Nevada State Route 375|State Route 375, the "Extraterrestrial Highway"]], south of [[Rachel, Nevada|Rachel]].<ref>{{cite news |url=http://travel.nytimes.com/2007/04/13/travel/escapes/13extraterrestrial.html |title=Lonesome Highway to Another World? |access-date=8 July 2007 |author=Regenold, Stephen |date=13 April 2007 |newspaper=The New York Times |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070617100409/http://travel.nytimes.com/2007/04/13/travel/escapes/13extraterrestrial.html |archive-date=17 June 2007 |url-status=live}}</ref>

==History==

The origin of the name "Area 51" is unclear. It is believed to be from an [[United States Atomic Energy Commission|Atomic Energy Commission]] (AEC) numbering grid, although Area 51 is not part of this system; it is adjacent to Area 15. Another explanation is that 51 was used because it was unlikely that the AEC would use the number.<ref>{{cite news |last=Strickland |first=Jonathan |title=How Area 51 Works |url=http://science.howstuffworks.com/space/aliens-ufos/area-51.htm#mkcpgn=fb6 |newspaper=How Stuff Work |access-date=16 August 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130821042029/http://science.howstuffworks.com/space/aliens-ufos/area-51.htm#mkcpgn=fb6 |archive-date=21 August 2013 |url-status=live}}</ref> According to the [[Central Intelligence Agency]] (CIA), the correct names for the facility are Homey Airport (XTA/KXTA) and Groom Lake,<ref>{{cite web |title=Intelligence Officer's Bookshelf |url=https://www.cia.gov/library/center-for-the-study-of-intelligence/csi-publications/csi-studies/studies/vol.-55-no.-4/intelligence-officer2019s-bookshelf.html#8 |website=CIA.gov |date=11 June 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131203005622/https://www.cia.gov/library/center-for-the-study-of-intelligence/csi-publications/csi-studies/studies/vol.-55-no.-4/intelligence-officer2019s-bookshelf.html#8 |archive-date=3 December 2013 |access-date=15 July 2019 |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="FASOverhead">{{cite web |url=https://fas.org/irp/overhead/groom.htm |title=Overhead: Groom Lake – Area 51 |publisher=Federation of American Scientists |access-date=11 June 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130605064724/http://www.fas.org/irp/overhead/groom.htm |archive-date=5 June 2013 |url-status=live}}</ref> though the name "Area 51" was used in a CIA document from the [[Vietnam War]].<ref name="cia_oxcart_kadena">{{cite web |author=[[Richard Helms|Helms, Richard]] |title="OXCART reconnaissance of North Vietnam", Memo to the Deputy Secretary of Defense from the office of CIA Director Richard Helms, 15 May 1967 |url=http://www.foia.cia.gov/docs/DOC_0001471747/0001471747_0017.gif |website=FOIA.CIA.gov |date=15 May 1967 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121015022815/http://www.foia.cia.gov/docs/DOC_0001471747/0001471747_0017.gif |archive-date=15 October 2012 |access-date=15 July 2019 |url-status=dead}} (the full declassified document is [[:Commons:File:Cia oxcart vietnam memo.pdf|mirrored]] at Wikimedia Commons)</ref> The facility has also been referred to as "Dreamland" and "Paradise Ranch",<ref name="rich_groom_1977_p56">{{cite book |title=Skunk Works: A personal memoir of my years at Lockheed |url=https://archive.org/details/skunkworks00benr |url-access=registration |publisher=Little, Brown |author1=Rich, Ben R |author2=Janos, Leo |author1-link=Ben Rich (engineer) |year=1994 |location=Boston |page=[https://archive.org/details/skunkworks00benr/page/56 56] |isbn=978-0-316-74300-6}}</ref> among other nicknames, with the former also being the [[Approach Control|approach control]] [[Aviation call signs|call sign]] for the surrounding area.<ref>{{Cite book |last=99th Air Base Wing |url=https://static.e-publishing.af.mil/production/1/nellisafb/publication/nellisafbi11-250/nellisafbi11-250.pdf |title=Nellis Air Force Base Instruction 11-250 |date=2022-06-17 |publisher=[[United States Air Force]] |location=Las Vegas |page=105 |language=en |author-link=99th Air Base Wing |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220716225145/https://static.e-publishing.af.mil/production/1/nellisafb/publication/nellisafbi11-250/nellisafbi11-250.pdf |archive-date=2022-07-16 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Nevada Test and Training Range |url=https://static.e-publishing.af.mil/production/1/nellisafb/publication/afi13-212v1_accsup_nttrsup_add_a/afman13-212v1_nttr_add_a.pdf |title=Air Force Manual 13-212 Volume 1 ACC Supplement NTTR Addendum A |date=2020-07-24 |publisher=[[United States Air Force]] |location=Las Vegas |pages=16 |language=en |author-link=Nevada Test and Training Range (military unit) |access-date=2022-07-31 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220731113004/https://static.e-publishing.af.mil/production/1/nellisafb/publication/afi13-212v1_accsup_nttrsup_add_a/afman13-212v1_nttr_add_a.pdf |archive-date=2022-07-31 |url-status=live}}</ref> The USAF public relations has referred to the facility as "an operating location near Groom Dry Lake". The [[special use airspace]] around the field is referred to as Restricted Area 4808 North (R-4808N).<ref>{{cite web |url=http://skyvector.com/?ll=37.014066054376556,-116.14755298456771&chart=17&zoom=2 |title=Flight Planning / Aeronautical Charts |publisher=SkyVector |access-date=11 June 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131203023814/http://skyvector.com/?ll=37.014066054376556,-116.14755298456771&chart=17&zoom=2 |archive-date=3 December 2013 |url-status=live}}</ref>