Penetrating the Secrets of Area 51
What is landing in the desert? (Landov)
What is Area 51?
Does America have a secret base for captured UFOs? Or a home for the blackest of black government projects? Or a sinkhole where billions of tax dollars disappear with no record? The answer may be “all of the above.”
Area 51 is the most secret location in America’s military network. No other base on Earth has so captured the public’s imagination. And yet, to this day, the U.S. government will neither confirm nor deny the existence of a place called “Area 51.”
The story begins in the wastelands of Nevada, 83 miles north of Las Vegas. Among the dry lakebeds, jackrabbits and scrub vegetation, there lies a massive stretch of parched emptiness known as Groom Lake. Officially, it’s part of Nellis Air Force Base, and is used as a test and training range. Military pilots regularly practice bombing, strafing and dog-fighting tactics over Groom Lake. It also shares a border with the Yucca Flat region of the Nevada Test Site (NTS), the location of 739 of the 828 recorded nuclear tests on American soil.
Area 51 is the most secret location in America’s military network. No other base on Earth has so captured the public’s imagination. And yet, to this day, the U.S. government will neither confirm nor deny the existence of a place called “Area 51.”
The story begins in the wastelands of Nevada, 83 miles north of Las Vegas. Among the dry lakebeds, jackrabbits and scrub vegetation, there lies a massive stretch of parched emptiness known as Groom Lake. Officially, it’s part of Nellis Air Force Base, and is used as a test and training range. Military pilots regularly practice bombing, strafing and dog-fighting tactics over Groom Lake. It also shares a border with the Yucca Flat region of the Nevada Test Site (NTS), the location of 739 of the 828 recorded nuclear tests on American soil.
The History of Area 51
Groom Lake began life as a practice facility during World War II, mainly as a gunnery and artillery range. It was then provided to a team from Lockheed's super-secret Skunk Works division, as the ideal location to test the experimental U-2 spy plane. The dry lakebed made it possible to work in total isolation, an especially important attribute during the heightened paranoia of the Cold War. The mountain ranges of the nearby Emigrant Valley and the NTS perimeter protected the test site from spies.
In the early 50s, Lockheed constructed a makeshift base at the location. In only three months, a 5,000-foot runway was built. The first U-2 took off from Groom on August 4, 1955. The U-2s, under CIA control, began flying over the Soviet Union in mid-1956.
The U-2 itself has always been an object of intense speculation. In fact, the plane is one of the major reasons people believe Area 51 is a storehouse of extraterrestrial knowledge. Using mid-1950s design and technology, the U-2 could do amazing things. It could fly at 73,000 feet, so high that the pilot had to wear a spacesuit, which was unheard of in the 50s.
In 1964, Area 51/Groom Lake spawned Son of U-2, the incredible SR71 Blackbird. The SR71 was the U-2 on steroids. Its capabilities are still astonishing, especially for a plane that first flew in 1962. In fact, it was the world's fastest and highest-flying manned airplane throughout its career. In 1976, it broke the world record for non-space flight: an absolute altitude record of 85,069 feet. The Blackbird also holds the "Speed Over a Recognized Course" record for flying from New York to London at a speed of 1435 mph, making the journey in 1 hour, 54 minutes and 56.4 seconds. [Watch Conspiracy Theory with Jesse Ventura on truTV]
How did a plane built with 1950s technology accomplish these feats? Area 51 may hold the answer. For years, rumors have swirled that the U.S. government possesses knowledge that outstrips anything known to modern science. It is speculated that this incredibly advanced engineering has been culled from captured or crashed UFOs—or given to us by extraterrestrials—and then retrofitted onto existing technology by top-secret personnel. It’s believed that only a tiny number of people with super-secret security clearances know the real truth. There have been fantastical stories of alien containment chambers, airlocks and anti-gravity examining rooms—10 stories below ground at Area 51.
The government, of course, tells a different story. According to official documents, Area 51 is a myth, and Nellis AFB is merely a testing ground for aircraft design and other unnamed “research” projects.
But eyewitnesses beg to differ.
In the early 50s, Lockheed constructed a makeshift base at the location. In only three months, a 5,000-foot runway was built. The first U-2 took off from Groom on August 4, 1955. The U-2s, under CIA control, began flying over the Soviet Union in mid-1956.
The U-2 itself has always been an object of intense speculation. In fact, the plane is one of the major reasons people believe Area 51 is a storehouse of extraterrestrial knowledge. Using mid-1950s design and technology, the U-2 could do amazing things. It could fly at 73,000 feet, so high that the pilot had to wear a spacesuit, which was unheard of in the 50s.
In 1964, Area 51/Groom Lake spawned Son of U-2, the incredible SR71 Blackbird. The SR71 was the U-2 on steroids. Its capabilities are still astonishing, especially for a plane that first flew in 1962. In fact, it was the world's fastest and highest-flying manned airplane throughout its career. In 1976, it broke the world record for non-space flight: an absolute altitude record of 85,069 feet. The Blackbird also holds the "Speed Over a Recognized Course" record for flying from New York to London at a speed of 1435 mph, making the journey in 1 hour, 54 minutes and 56.4 seconds. [Watch Conspiracy Theory with Jesse Ventura on truTV]
How did a plane built with 1950s technology accomplish these feats? Area 51 may hold the answer. For years, rumors have swirled that the U.S. government possesses knowledge that outstrips anything known to modern science. It is speculated that this incredibly advanced engineering has been culled from captured or crashed UFOs—or given to us by extraterrestrials—and then retrofitted onto existing technology by top-secret personnel. It’s believed that only a tiny number of people with super-secret security clearances know the real truth. There have been fantastical stories of alien containment chambers, airlocks and anti-gravity examining rooms—10 stories below ground at Area 51.
The government, of course, tells a different story. According to official documents, Area 51 is a myth, and Nellis AFB is merely a testing ground for aircraft design and other unnamed “research” projects.
But eyewitnesses beg to differ.
Along the Line of Death
Area 51 border? (WireImage/Getty Images)A middle-aged man named Chuck Clark used to live in a trailer in Rachel, NV. The closest town to Area 51, Rachel is known as the terminus of the “Extraterrestrial Highway,” aka Nevada State Road 375. Chuck was intrigued by the local rumors and decided to investigate. He began asking questions, taking photographs and combing through any material he could find. One thing he was careful about—never crossing the boundary of the base. Marked by orange traffic-like cones every 50 feet or so, the border is known as the “line of death.” The ridges above the line bristle with advanced electronic sensors, listening devices and heavily armed guards. Signs warn that trespassers will be detained, arrested… or even shot.
One day Chuck stumbled on something in the ground and stopped to dig it up. He checked carefully to make sure he wasn’t on the Area 51 property itself. Chuck’s find turned out to be a highly sensitive “ground sensor,” designed to detect minute vibrations or movement on the surface. With the help of another researcher, a man named Joerg Arnu, Chuck found several of these sensors. He always checked to make sure they weren’t inside the boundary line. And he was careful to rebury them after he logged their location. Like many people, Chuck wondered why they would need sophisticated ground sensors so far from the base. What doesn’t the U.S. government want us to know about Area 51?
But soon, idle speculation turned to stark terror.
One day in late 2003, Chuck came home to find his trailer completely ransacked. His
written records, photos, computers, hard drives—and even personal effects—had been
taken. The phone was ringing urgently; it was the FBI. They demanded that Chuck come to a meeting in Las Vegas right away, which led him to believe the FBI was behind the raid. Las Vegas CBS affiliate, KLAS-TV, reported that "FBI agents have confirmed that a search warrant was served [the same night] on the home of a self-described military watchdog in the tiny town of Rachel, near the mysterious Area 51 military base." The warrant was sealed and the target's name not disclosed.
At the meeting, Chuck admitted to the FBI that he had dug up the early-warning devices, but denied he ever took one or interfered with their operation. In a quiet “arrangement,” Chuck agreed to stop his Area 51 research. He left Rachel, NV, and now lives in a
location he chooses not to reveal.
Local Las Vegas TV-news reporter named George Knapp has been on the Area 51 beat for two decades. Knapp believes there are a huge number of CIA dark projects at the base. He’s heard all the stories, from wild to mild. One thing Knapp knows for sure: every day at McCarren Las Vegas airport, a secret airline shuttles workers to and from Area 51. Known informally as “Lisa Airlines,” it loads and unloads passengers at unmarked gates. Questions directed to McCarren airport and local government officials go unanswered. The truth about Area 51 is kept hidden behind multiple layers of security and secrecy. But there may be some clues in plain sight—clues involving the SR71 and U-2 spy planes.
Area 51 border? (WireImage/Getty Images)A middle-aged man named Chuck Clark used to live in a trailer in Rachel, NV. The closest town to Area 51, Rachel is known as the terminus of the “Extraterrestrial Highway,” aka Nevada State Road 375. Chuck was intrigued by the local rumors and decided to investigate. He began asking questions, taking photographs and combing through any material he could find. One thing he was careful about—never crossing the boundary of the base. Marked by orange traffic-like cones every 50 feet or so, the border is known as the “line of death.” The ridges above the line bristle with advanced electronic sensors, listening devices and heavily armed guards. Signs warn that trespassers will be detained, arrested… or even shot.One day Chuck stumbled on something in the ground and stopped to dig it up. He checked carefully to make sure he wasn’t on the Area 51 property itself. Chuck’s find turned out to be a highly sensitive “ground sensor,” designed to detect minute vibrations or movement on the surface. With the help of another researcher, a man named Joerg Arnu, Chuck found several of these sensors. He always checked to make sure they weren’t inside the boundary line. And he was careful to rebury them after he logged their location. Like many people, Chuck wondered why they would need sophisticated ground sensors so far from the base. What doesn’t the U.S. government want us to know about Area 51?
But soon, idle speculation turned to stark terror.
One day in late 2003, Chuck came home to find his trailer completely ransacked. His
written records, photos, computers, hard drives—and even personal effects—had been
taken. The phone was ringing urgently; it was the FBI. They demanded that Chuck come to a meeting in Las Vegas right away, which led him to believe the FBI was behind the raid. Las Vegas CBS affiliate, KLAS-TV, reported that "FBI agents have confirmed that a search warrant was served [the same night] on the home of a self-described military watchdog in the tiny town of Rachel, near the mysterious Area 51 military base." The warrant was sealed and the target's name not disclosed.
At the meeting, Chuck admitted to the FBI that he had dug up the early-warning devices, but denied he ever took one or interfered with their operation. In a quiet “arrangement,” Chuck agreed to stop his Area 51 research. He left Rachel, NV, and now lives in a
location he chooses not to reveal.
Local Las Vegas TV-news reporter named George Knapp has been on the Area 51 beat for two decades. Knapp believes there are a huge number of CIA dark projects at the base. He’s heard all the stories, from wild to mild. One thing Knapp knows for sure: every day at McCarren Las Vegas airport, a secret airline shuttles workers to and from Area 51. Known informally as “Lisa Airlines,” it loads and unloads passengers at unmarked gates. Questions directed to McCarren airport and local government officials go unanswered. The truth about Area 51 is kept hidden behind multiple layers of security and secrecy. But there may be some clues in plain sight—clues involving the SR71 and U-2 spy planes.
What's Being Hidden at Area 51?
Several conferences of aeronautical engineers and specialists have reached the startling conclusion that, quite simply, the SR71 and U-2 aircraft couldn’t have been built in the 1950s. We just didn’t have the know-how; in fact, no country did. So where did they come from? A man named Bob Lazar thinks he knows the answers.
Lazar claims he is a physicist who worked at the super-secret area at Groom Lake called S-4. According to Lazar, S-4 is where the reverse engineering of extraterrestrial craft takes place. In a series of interviews with George Knapp, Lazar said he first thought “flying saucers” were actually our own experimental aircraft and that those test flights were responsible for many UFO reports. Gradually, on closer examination and having seen briefing documents, Lazar came to the conclusion that the discs were actually extraterrestrial in origin. In his filmed testimony, Lazar explained how this realization came to him when he was allowed to board a craft and study its interior.
Lazar claims that atomic Element 115, called Ununpentium (Uup), serves as the propellant. It reportedly “provided an energy source which would produce antigravity effects under proton bombardment along with antimatter for energy production. As the intense strong nuclear force-field of Element 115's nucleus would be properly amplified, the resulting large-scale gravitational effect would be a distortion of the surrounding space-time continuum.”
Whatever all that science jargon means, one thing is for sure. If Lazar is telling the truth, Area 51 contains secrets of staggering importance. This again begs the question: Are they hiding UFOs there?
Advanced Experimental Aircraft
Using both known and speculative data, experts have come up with an astonishing list of advanced aircraft in the U.S. arsenal. Some of these craft are featured in articles that have been published in authoritative publications like Jane’s Aircraft. The list includes:
F-15C Eagle (Getty Images)But the list gets even wilder. Michael Schratt is an aerospace researcher and expert on black projects and advanced aircraft. He has many contacts inside the military defense establishment. Schratt has revealed the existence of something called the TR3B. This mysterious and ultra-top-secret flying machine is located at—surprise—Area 51. It’s jet-black, with a distinctive triangular shape. According to Schratt, the TR3B is nuclear-powered. Schratt believes the nuclear engine is mated to a plasma-filled accelerator ring, called the Magnetic Field Disrupter. It permits gravity to be neutralized and creates a true antigravity craft; in other words, a flying disc. If true, this is far ahead of any imaginable technology.
Lazar claims he is a physicist who worked at the super-secret area at Groom Lake called S-4. According to Lazar, S-4 is where the reverse engineering of extraterrestrial craft takes place. In a series of interviews with George Knapp, Lazar said he first thought “flying saucers” were actually our own experimental aircraft and that those test flights were responsible for many UFO reports. Gradually, on closer examination and having seen briefing documents, Lazar came to the conclusion that the discs were actually extraterrestrial in origin. In his filmed testimony, Lazar explained how this realization came to him when he was allowed to board a craft and study its interior.
Lazar claims that atomic Element 115, called Ununpentium (Uup), serves as the propellant. It reportedly “provided an energy source which would produce antigravity effects under proton bombardment along with antimatter for energy production. As the intense strong nuclear force-field of Element 115's nucleus would be properly amplified, the resulting large-scale gravitational effect would be a distortion of the surrounding space-time continuum.”
Whatever all that science jargon means, one thing is for sure. If Lazar is telling the truth, Area 51 contains secrets of staggering importance. This again begs the question: Are they hiding UFOs there?
Advanced Experimental Aircraft
Using both known and speculative data, experts have come up with an astonishing list of advanced aircraft in the U.S. arsenal. Some of these craft are featured in articles that have been published in authoritative publications like Jane’s Aircraft. The list includes:
- Aurora. A top-secret spy plane capable of Mach 5 to Mach 6 speeds, and an altitude of 120,000 feet. The plane uses exotic hybrid propulsion and delta-shaped wings made of a material so secret that there are no published studies of the engineering basics.
- The Darpa Disc Rotor. A combination of airplane and helicopter. Unnamed witnesses claim that it looks like a UFO in the night sky.
- Polecat. The next-generation unmanned aircraft, it supposedly has incredible capabilities and technology never before seen.
F-15C Eagle (Getty Images)But the list gets even wilder. Michael Schratt is an aerospace researcher and expert on black projects and advanced aircraft. He has many contacts inside the military defense establishment. Schratt has revealed the existence of something called the TR3B. This mysterious and ultra-top-secret flying machine is located at—surprise—Area 51. It’s jet-black, with a distinctive triangular shape. According to Schratt, the TR3B is nuclear-powered. Schratt believes the nuclear engine is mated to a plasma-filled accelerator ring, called the Magnetic Field Disrupter. It permits gravity to be neutralized and creates a true antigravity craft; in other words, a flying disc. If true, this is far ahead of any imaginable technology.The Phoenix Lights
Phoenix Lights (truTV)On March 13, 1997, thousands of people in the Phoenix area saw a huge triangular shape, outlined by bright lights, moving slowly in the night sky. The formation was seen by air-traffic controllers, airline pilots, cops—even the governor of Arizona. UFO hysteria soon descended over the Valley of the Sun. But a writer named Randall Fitzgerald began asking hard questions about the “Phoenix Lights” phenomenon. He theorized that the lights might not have been a UFO at all. Working from eyewitness accounts, Fitzgerald recreated the flight path. He discovered that the huge triangle seemed to originate from the area around Groom Lake. Then it followed Interstate 10 almost exactly. Why, he asked, would an extraterrestrial craft with the ability to cross space, need an interstate highway to navigate its way to Phoenix?
It’s widely known that the U.S. has advanced cloaking and stealth technology. What isn’t realized is America’s robust holographic technology. This is the ability to project images of startling reality from unknown sources. Some scientists claim we are far more advanced with these exotic optical effects than we admit. There are even rumors that this technology has been used on the battlefields of Iraq. After his research, Fitzgerald came to believe that the Phoenix Lights phenomenon was an incredibly advanced lighter-than-air craft originating from Area 51. The goal was to experiment with holograms over a populated area, to test the public’s reactions. And Fitzgerald has what he believes is a smoking gun: what appears to be a secret CIA document authorizing experiments with holograms. He theorizes that stories about aliens at Area 51 are planted by the government itself. The idea is to distract the public—and our enemies—from the real work going on at Groom Lake, and incidentally, to make sure we don’t question how much it all costs. [Watch Conspiracy Theory with Jesse Ventura on truTV]
Phoenix Lights (truTV)On March 13, 1997, thousands of people in the Phoenix area saw a huge triangular shape, outlined by bright lights, moving slowly in the night sky. The formation was seen by air-traffic controllers, airline pilots, cops—even the governor of Arizona. UFO hysteria soon descended over the Valley of the Sun. But a writer named Randall Fitzgerald began asking hard questions about the “Phoenix Lights” phenomenon. He theorized that the lights might not have been a UFO at all. Working from eyewitness accounts, Fitzgerald recreated the flight path. He discovered that the huge triangle seemed to originate from the area around Groom Lake. Then it followed Interstate 10 almost exactly. Why, he asked, would an extraterrestrial craft with the ability to cross space, need an interstate highway to navigate its way to Phoenix?It’s widely known that the U.S. has advanced cloaking and stealth technology. What isn’t realized is America’s robust holographic technology. This is the ability to project images of startling reality from unknown sources. Some scientists claim we are far more advanced with these exotic optical effects than we admit. There are even rumors that this technology has been used on the battlefields of Iraq. After his research, Fitzgerald came to believe that the Phoenix Lights phenomenon was an incredibly advanced lighter-than-air craft originating from Area 51. The goal was to experiment with holograms over a populated area, to test the public’s reactions. And Fitzgerald has what he believes is a smoking gun: what appears to be a secret CIA document authorizing experiments with holograms. He theorizes that stories about aliens at Area 51 are planted by the government itself. The idea is to distract the public—and our enemies—from the real work going on at Groom Lake, and incidentally, to make sure we don’t question how much it all costs. [Watch Conspiracy Theory with Jesse Ventura on truTV]
The Human Costs of Area 51
But all the research at Area 51, whether alien or human, has created frightening side effects. In 1994, several civilian employees filed a federal lawsuit claiming toxic poisoning from their work at Area 51. The suit claimed that exotic chemicals and rocket fuel were burned in open pits. After several allegations of premature deaths, the families took action. In response, the Pentagon again denied the existence of Area 51. In a classic example of government double-talk, military lawyers claimed the deceased employees could not possibly have inhaled “non-existent” fumes from “non-existent” disposal sites at a “non-existent” air-force base. President Bill Clinton then issued a Presidential Declaration, exempting what it called "The Air Force's Operating Location Near Groom Lake, Nevada" from environmental disclosure laws. Soon after, the judge dismissed the suit due to lack of evidence. The families appealed all the way the U.S. Supreme Court, but the court refused to hear the case. George Bush and Barack Obama have annually issued determinations continuing the so-called “Groom Exception.” This, and similarly tacit wording used in other government communications, is the only formal recognition the U.S. government has ever given that a facility near Groom Lake exists at all.
(WireImage/Getty Images)Area 51 will continue to be a source of rumors, plots, scenarios and yes, conspiracy theories. But evidence is mounting that there is something very mysterious going on out there. Currently, the base is expanding. Huge new hangars are being built, along with gigantic excavations, presumed to be for underground facilities. The public will never be told what its dollars are buying. Once again, we have to rely on the government’s assurance that it knows what’s best for you and me
(WireImage/Getty Images)Area 51 will continue to be a source of rumors, plots, scenarios and yes, conspiracy theories. But evidence is mounting that there is something very mysterious going on out there. Currently, the base is expanding. Huge new hangars are being built, along with gigantic excavations, presumed to be for underground facilities. The public will never be told what its dollars are buying. Once again, we have to rely on the government’s assurance that it knows what’s best for you and me
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