“Area 51: Alien Encounters, Government Secrets, and UFO Sightings”
CNN: “ …reports that strange “flying discs” have been whizzing at 1200 mph over the Western United States…”
To most of the Americans, there is no more famous secret base than the Area 51.
RUMORS:
This all started on June 24, the day private pilot Kenneth Arnold reported seeing nine gleaming UFOs close to a hill in the Seattle area. After this, for two weeks, individuals from all over America reported witnessing flying UFOs. Media coverage of this was extensive. America’s UFO sighting locations are displayed on this map.
The places get associated with nuclear testing sites by the media. Meanwhile, Mac Brazel, a man from New Mexico, recalls discovering strange waste three weeks prior on his land. A thin wooden beam, rubber, and tin foil. Unable to determine what they were, he began to associate them with the UFOs. On July 7th, he brought the wreckage to Roswell’s Sherif. Colonel William Blanchard was one of the army officers who noticed this. He oversaw Roswell Army Airfield (RAAF) as its commanding officer. The RAAF said in a statement the next day that the flying disk rumors were confirmed.
Report of Air Force research regarding the “ROSWELL INCIDENT”:
“the 509th bomb group of the 8th Airforce, Roswell Army Airfield was fortunate enough to gain possession of a disk.”
WITHDRAWING A STANCE:
The next day the US army officials revert from their stance. They claimed that the weather balloon was the source of the debris. Pictures showing Major Marcel holding the weather balloon fragments were made public as evidence.
Following this, the news stopped. In the eyes of the media, there was never a UFO — just a weather balloon.
RUMORS PERSISTED:
Years later, in 1970, reports of extraterrestrial objects being seen flying over the New Mexico desert began to circulate once more as the public’s excitement began to wane. Reportedly, this UFO crashed when lightning struck it putting an end to the alien within.
Jesse Marcel: “The debris he had seen was from nothing made ‘on this Earth’.”
Since then, the importance of the Roswell Incident kept increasing. New theories came up, people claim that in the UFO crash, a living alien was discovered. US army has kept the alien at a secret base, and it was believed that the alien is imprisoned at a top-secret base. And that the US Army is trying to reverse-engineer alien technology and research on alien life. But this is happening at a top-secret location called Area 51.
UNMASKING:
Area 51, is actually the US Military facility found in the middle of a desert. Going there, trespassing, and going inside the facility is absolutely not allowed for people. Outside, you’d spot such signboards :
“Photography of this area is prohibited.”
“In case of any suspicious activity, it would be met with deadly force.”
There were repeated warnings on the signboards. What exactly is Area 51? What’s in there?
Nevada Test and Training Range (NTTR), the largest land under federal control in the United States, is home to Area 51. There are more than 12,000 km² in this area. In addition to it, the United States conducted nuclear weapons testing at the Nevada Test Site, a restricted military facility, from the 1950s through the 1990s. During the Cold War, when the US and the USSR were at odds, Area 51 was truly established. Area 51 hosted testing for the most significant espionage planes in American history. This accounts for the seclusion surrounding this place. This was a highly secret sector from the beginning, and conspiracy theories proliferate quickly anywhere there is little information.
PRIMARY PURPOSE:
Lockheed U-2 Spy Plane: When it originally opened, the main objective was to test the new high-altitude stealth spy aircraft manufactured by Lockheed, the U2. Even the most sophisticated military aircraft of the era couldn’t match the U2 espionage planes’ altitude of 65,000 feet. An airplane that would escape detection by any anti-aircraft missile or by radar. Using this aircraft, America was able to spy on the Soviet Union for a considerable amount of time with some degree of success.
However, a Soviet missile brought it down on May 1, 1960.
“Years of hard-won secrecy for the US Intelligence community were wiped out in a month.”
Following military pressure on the administration, an order for something “much faster and stealthier” was issued.2. Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird: This airplane flies faster than any other in history. It can reach a maximum altitude of 78,740.16 feet and a maximum speed of 2112.66 mph. There was no way this plane could be shot down, thus maintaining its secrecy became crucial. The conspiracy idea about UFOs flying around is used here by the CIA.
“These are unidentified aerial phenomena, according to the US Department of Defense.” The CIA neither confirms nor refutes the allegations.
The SR-71 unleashed its full afterburner thrust, roaring skyward. In a legendary aircraft, a legendary pilot was making the first-ever flight.”
WRAP-UP:
In 1994, the true facts came to light. However, some people persisted in spreading conspiracy theories even after learning the truth. In June 2013, the CIA confirmed Area 51 publicly after a FOIA request and the publication of a Declassified document, even though everyone knew it was already there and it had been in operation for about 60 years. Owing to their strong ties to extraterrestrial life, the US government no longer views these flying objects as UFOs. UAP, or Unidentified Aerial Phenomena, is the term they use instead.
The National Intelligence Agency and the Department of Defense were ordered by the US government to make all of their UAP-related material publicly available in 2020. The task of identifying and evaluating the various UAP spotting locations has been given to the UAP Task Force. They may represent a risk to US national security. Not all of the seen UFOs are known to us. US pilots have seen UFOs on multiple occasions over the past five to ten years. The distinction is that these reports do not assert that the UFOs are alien-built or have extraterrestrial origins.
Travis Taylor: “There lots of different data sets that came in that we are looked at trying to figure out. Some turned out to be weather balloons, for example. But there were many that there’s not enough data and sensor data.”
Stay curious, stay engaged, and keep exploring new horizons with me. Until next time!
