Area 51 Palmdale facility. A search for a suitable testing site for the U-2 was conducted under the same extreme security as the rest of the project. He notified Lockheed, who sent an inspection team out to Groom Lake. According to Lockheed's U-2 designer Kelly Johnson: The lakebed made an ideal strip from which they could test aircraft, and the Emigrant Valley's mountain ranges and the NTS perimeter, about north of Las Vegas, protected the test site from visitors. The CIA asked the AEC to acquire the land, designated "Area 51" on the map, and add it to the Nevada Test Site.
Area 51 (film) on demand platforms beginning on May 15, 2015 courtesy of Paramount Insurge and Blumhouse Tilt. The film made a total of $7,556 for its weekend long-run. "Area 51" garnered predominately negative reviews from critics. The film holds a 17% rating on "Rotten Tomatoes" based on six reviews. Brian Tallerico writing for "RogerEbert.com" gave the film one and half stars and mainly criticized the film's generic plot and pacing. A. A. Dowd from The A.V. Club gave "Area 51" a 'C'-rating and criticized the film's originality when compared to Oren Peli's previous film, "Paranormal Activity". Area 51 (film) Area 51 is