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Area 51 is located outside of
Las Vegas, Nevada. According to official United States governmental
statements, the base doesn’t actually exist. Unofficially, it is an
operational testing range for the cutting edge technological developments of
America’s armed forces. The facilities centered around the Groom Lake area
are the most secretive in the world, requiring a level of security so
remarkable that Area 51 has become a modern day myth. Access to the base is by authorized personnel only, via a daily shuttle service from Las Vegas aboard a Boeing 747. There is no perimeter fence, just vast mileage of desert in all directions making this |
inaccessible to the public. This
‘no man’s land’ around Groom Lake is patrolled constantly by the infamous "Camo-dudes",
supported by electronic surveillance, military units and air support.
Warning signs on the edge of Area 51 tell of heavy penalties for intruders,
including the authorization for the deadly use of force. The U.S.
Government aims to keep this site secure at all costs. No one gets in -
period.
It is also known that the hangar doors in the sides of the mountains are closed when satellites pass overhead. The astronaut Gordon Cooper recently disclosed that pictures taken by him while orbiting in Gemini 5, were confiscated because he had been inadvertently traveling over Area 51 at the time. The base has the world’s longest runway, although the need for this is not clear unless landings from sub-orbital vehicles are necessary. None of this is visible to the public, as the surrounding vantage points in nearby mountains have been bought up and included within the perimeter of the vast site. Given the total paranoia surrounding the base and the activity that goes on there, the question is - what exactly is Area 51 and what happens there? The pictures below were taken in 1968 by the USGS (United States Geological Survey) and most recently in 2007 by Russia's Space Information KVR-1000 satellite system. Click on the picture for a larger version. |
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