As you can see from the photo, the hangar is in the early stages of construction in 2006. The most recent photos taken in 2009 show an almost completed hangar. The approximate dimensions are impressive. It is clearly the largest hangar at Area 51. The size is estimated to be 200 feet by 400 feet and nearly 100 feet high. The hangar can open from both the front and rear of the building. The taxi line goes right through the middle. It appears the taxi line swings way out as if the hangar was made to house a project with quite a large wing span. It appears that the project would be able to taxi out of the South end and enter through the north end when the flight was over. There is a huge mound of dirt that would block the view from any other planes using the runways. If the North end doors were closed, the rest of the base would not be able to see what was inside the hangar. I imagine the aircraft would leave out the South doors and taxi to the runway. Upon returning, the North end doors would open for the craft to enter. In my opinion, the contents of the hangar are not meant to be seen by many workers on the base. The fact that the doors open on each side of the hangar possibly mean that the craft is large and difficult to back up and manage or the craft needs to taxi to the runway quickly and take off in a hurry. The new hangar, in my opinion, is the candidate for three types of projects. It is a little too early to determine what project will be housed in the new hangar.1.
Unmanned flying-wing capable of long-duration surveillance flights, measured in days and weeks instead of hours This type of craft is probably unmanned and can monitor a battlefield for days at a time sending back real time information. The large wingspan would make sense of the recent images that show the taxi line leading quite far from the edges of the hangar as compared to other taxi lines on base. 2. Like the Aurora and Boeing concepts selected for
study under Darpa's Vulture program, Lockheed's UAV is solar-powered.
Like Boeing's, but unlike Aurora's, it is a single vehicle intended to
stay aloft for the full five years. Notable design features include the
tails, which rotate to collect the most sunlight. The "launch
once" vehicle will also capture photovoltaic energy from the Earth's
albedo, says Derek Bye, Lockheed's Vulture program manager.
The
gondolas distribute systems and payload weight along the 300ft-plus
span and are connected by a lower strut that helps stabilize the
lightweight, flexible structure. The engines are electric ring motors,
which avoid the need for gearboxes by driving the propellers
directly at a distance from the hub. Bye says the Skunk Works is
drawing on the satellite experience of Lockheed Space Systems business
to design the ultra-reliable vehicle.
3. For many
years it has been assumed our country is working on an unmanned bomber.
With the success of the drone UAV, I guess an unmanned bomber is just
around the corner.
Northrop Grumman's Secret X-Bomber
4.
I am tending to lean towards the next generation hypersonic craft. It would be the successor to the SR-71. There have been many different names for this project, but none have seemed to materialize. If if wasn't for the taxi line in the new photos swinging out so far from the building, I would certainly say this new hangar was for the next generation hypersonic craft. It is built to hold at least two jets with plenty of room for workers and equipment necessary to support this type of project. Much like the SR-71 it could taxi on it's own through the south doors and return in the north doors quickly closing behind it. The hangar would have plenty of room to hold the necessary technology to unload mission information quickly. It just seems like the set up of the hangar would allow for quick exiting and returning with very little "extra eyes" seeing the craft.
Aurora Mach 6-plus attack aircraft
Area 51 Satellite Map
November 14, 2006
