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The CIA's declassified map of Groom Lake/Area 51 (Image credit: National Security Archive) The April 1974 memo also says that the Skylab photograph "in the public domain would almost certainly provide strong stimulus for media questioning and the potential near-term revelation of the missions of the installation." The two-page document, marked "Top Secret," mentions a draft decision paper that focuses on the "relative merits of retaining as a high-priority secret national security installation versus the merits of the NASA belief that there would be domestic and foreign problems created by withholding the photograph." This memorandum discusses what to do about a photograph taken by Skylab astronauts of Area 51, outlining the issues to be considered in deciding whether or not to release the photograph. (Image credit: NASA)Īlso of interest is another document, dated April 11, 1974, from the deputy director of the NRO to the chairman of the director of central intelligence's Committee on Imagery Requirements and Exploitation. Skylab astronauts took this photograph as they approached the orbiting laboratory on the the third and final mission, known as Skylab 4, in November 1973. This would provide "a pretty fair idea of what deductions and conclusions could be made by the Soviets should Sputnik 13 have a reconnaissance capability," explains the memorandum, which was marked "secret." Īlso part of the plan, the memo states, was having a U-2 image Area 51: "Without advising the photographic interpreters of what the target is, ask them to determine what type of activity is being conducted at the site photographed," the memo states. The idea was viewed as a means of seeing what the Soviet Union might learn from its own satellite images of the facility. Others report on another type of activity at Area 51 - the exploitation of covertly acquired Soviet MiG fighter jets.Īmerican engineers assessed the design, performance and limitations of MiGs in an attempt to learn their vulnerabilities - knowledge that could come in handy during combat situations.Īn April 1962 document sourced to the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) outlines the rationale for photographing Area 51 by either a high-flying U-2 spy plane or a then-classified CORONA reconnaissance satellite. Those of you hoping for information about captured aliens and flying saucers will be disappointed.Ī number of documents focus on the quest to develop stealth capability in aircraft.