Overview: Area 51 Base: Is Area 51 America's Hidden Spaceport? It is a complex of buildings and runways that has been seen on the cover of Popular Science magazine, taken from a Russian satellite photo, yet according to the U.S. Government, it doesn't exist. Aircraft with blacked out windows ferry workers from a special gate at the Las Vegas airport 120 miles to the south, and pick them up again at night, but the government says there is no such place. Signs around the perimeter warn that ""Deadly Force"" is authorized against any intruders and unmarked helicopters and Hummers patrol the perimeter. A scientist that worked there claims this is where the government houses its captured UFOs. Why will the government shoot down any plane that flies over its stark confines? What is going on at Area 51?