AREA 51 (SPECIAL EP-1)

      

 AREA 51 : 

  An Us air force installation located at groom lake in the USA

It is not accessible to the public and is under 24-hour surveillance. Area 51 employees reach the facility by way of airplanes. They fly in and out of a restricted terminal at McCarran International Airport on one of several unmarked planes permitted to fly through the airspace above. Adding to the secrecy, satellite imagery of the installation was censored until 2018.

As of today, Area 51 is visible on Google Maps. The only confirmed use of the installation is as a flight testing facility. During World War II, the US Army Air Corps used the site as an aerial gunnery range.

Selection of Area :

              In 1955, the CIA selected the area as a testing site for the Lockheed U-2, a high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft. President Dwight D. Eisenhower authorized the testing to be conducted under the codename Project Aquatone. After the U-2 was put into service in 1956, Area 51 was used to develop other aircraft, including the A-12 reconnaissance plane, also known as Oxcart, and the stealth fighter F-117 Nighthawk.

Declassified documents :

              On June 25th, 2013, the CIA approved the release of declassified documents chronicling the history of the U-2 and Oxcart programs in response to a Freedom of Information Act request. The release of those documents marked the first time that the US government formally acknowledged the existence of Area 51. Since then, not much other information has been forthcoming.

                                                                                                                -To be continued