So, why is it called Area 51? To begin with, it's not the official name the official name is
Nevada test and training range or simply the Groom Lake Base
It's believed the name Area 51 came about because the facility borders a place called
Nevada Test Site this place which was used to test nuclear bombs after World War II is mapped as a grid of squares
numbered between one and thirty, Area 51 while not part of this grid borders Area 15
which many say is the reason for its now iconic name.
In 1997 the radio program Coast To Coast AM
Got a call from a frantic man claiming to be an ex-Area 51 employee
After a while the radio station suddenly loses the connection
"In some way something knocked us off the air, and we're on a backup system now"
"Government or..." "I don't know!" "Has to be something though.."
Many believe that the area 51 we see on the surface is only the tip of the iceberg
It's thought that the area also has a huge network of tunnels and facilities going several stories underground
Entrances like this can be found around the complex, for example.
However like most things about area 51, it's impossible to say for sure
One of the most controversial and famous stories surrounding area 51 is that of Bob Lazar
Ever since 1989 he claims to have worked near area 51 in a facility called S-4
Where he supposedly worked on reverse engineering alien technology
Lazar claims he saw a range of different alien
spacecrafts and has provided detailed information on how these vehicles actually worked. For example
it says the few these vehicles used was an element with an atomic weight of
115 which allowed the craft to create some sort of anti-gravity effect. Interestingly
element 115 or ununpentium was first discovered in
2003
14 years after Lazar first mentioned it. He also claims that he was given briefings describing how extraterrestrials
Have visited earth for the past 100 thousand years. The beings originated from a planet within the
Zeta Reticuli star system which is located about 39 light years from Earth. However so far
No planets have been found to orbit the binary star system
But he's been largely discredited for several other reasons as well for example
He claims to have a master's degree from MIT
But there's no records of that whatsoever no one at the school remembers him and when asked to name some of his professors
He gave the name of a professor at a different school named Peirce Junior College
Lazar was also registered in one of his courses at Pierce Junior College the same time he claims to have attended MIT
so if he's lying about his education
What else is lying about?
however Lazar still stands by his claims 25 years later
But also adds that he doesn't want anything to do with UFOs anymore and has left it all in the past
Today the only place where you can actually see area 51 with your own eyes is a place called Ticaboo Peak. However you still need
Binoculars or some sort of telescope to see it as it's 42 kilometers away
Previously you could view it at much closer distances from two places called White Sights and Freedom Ridge
But these locations were later ceased by the government in
1995
Each weekday about 20 flights in each direction
transports around 1,000 workers between Las Vegas and their jobs at area 51
The unmarked white planes with a single red line on the side uses the call sign
Janet and takes off from their own terminal at the McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas
Janet is believed to stand for joint air network of employee transportation.
The planes are the only ones allowed to enter the airspace above and around area 51 not even military
Aircrafts are allowed to enter. It's also interesting that no one seems to wear suits or uniforms
Everyone is dressed pretty casual
In 1974 astronauts aboard a space station Skylab 4
inadvertently photographed area 51 while in orbit
There were specific instructions not to do this and was the only location on earth
Which had such an instruction. The photograph was published despite discussion of classified information
however, no one noticed the photo until
2007
33 years later
During the production of the 1996 movie Independence Day the US military had agreed to support the film by providing
vehicles costumes and allowing the crew to film at military bases however after learning of the area 51
references in the script they immediately withdrew their support
Even though some form of military base at Groom Lake has been known to exist for several decades now, the US government has never
Actually acknowledged this. This is until July last year when the CIA released papers documenting the history of
several previously classified
Projects these documents make several references to the area 51 facility
And reveals that it was for example used to test the spy planes Lockheed u2
And a12 and in December of last year Obama became the first US president in history to publicly
mention area 51
So the question you're all asking: what is really going on at area 51?
Crashed UFOs
Extraterrestrial experimentation
Cutting-edge technological developments
Weather controlling devices
Or super mega sensational uber top-notch smashing glorious marvelous outstanding amazing bewildering
secret military... stuff.
"In a world with secrets.. exists a place that is secret"
Okay, I'm sorry. I'm gonna stop now. When I started making this episode
I was quite optimistic really and wanted to find some truth some
Fact about what might be going on at area 51 and what I found in all the stories
I've read is that when a secret creates an information vacuum
wild speculation often fills the void
Basically it can be boiled down to this- the government won't reveal what's going on there
so it MUST be something ultra super amazingly secret. The thing is if we look at
historical evidence and not the word of any single person area 51 is a military base used for the development and testing of
Experimental aircrafts and weapon systems. After all that's why the base was created in the first place
They needed a suitable testing site for the spy plane U-2. I mean come on
You don't test a spy plane,
Which is all about being secret, out in the open, especially during the time of the Cold War.
No
You find a remote hard to access location preferably with big-ass mountains all around
In a big flat surface where all your secret never before tested
Experimental little planes can just chill out and be tested
Safely all day long without anyone knowing or harming anyone in the process or maybe just maybe
That's what they want you to think right Giorgio what's your thoughts on this we were visited by ETS