Episode Details
Back to Episodes
November 17, 1997: UFOs & Area 51 - David Adair
Published 2 years, 3 months ago
Description
Art Bell welcomes rocket scientist David Adair, who recounts his extraordinary journey from building rockets as a child in rural Ohio to a classified encounter at Area 51. Adair describes growing up around NASCAR machine shops with access to titanium, aircraft aluminum, and cryogenic fuels, which allowed him to build and launch increasingly powerful rockets from age 11. By 17, he had constructed a half-ton electromagnetic fusion containment engine with funding secured through his congressman and oversight from retired Air Force General Curtis LeMay.
Adair details the test launch at White Sands, where his rocket accelerated so rapidly that witnesses thought it had exploded. NORAD tracked the vehicle as it traveled 456 miles northwest to Groom Lake, better known as Area 51. Upon landing at the secretive base, Adair was escorted past his own rocket and into the central hangar, where he encountered former Nazi rocket engineer Dr. Arthur Rudolph among the officials present.
The episode also revisits the Space Islands concept from the prior week with Gene Meyers, as Adair confirms the engineering feasibility of converting shuttle external tanks into orbital tourist stations. He discusses the physiological effects of reduced gravity on the human body and explains why NASA has resisted cheaper alternatives to the International Space Station.
Adair details the test launch at White Sands, where his rocket accelerated so rapidly that witnesses thought it had exploded. NORAD tracked the vehicle as it traveled 456 miles northwest to Groom Lake, better known as Area 51. Upon landing at the secretive base, Adair was escorted past his own rocket and into the central hangar, where he encountered former Nazi rocket engineer Dr. Arthur Rudolph among the officials present.
The episode also revisits the Space Islands concept from the prior week with Gene Meyers, as Adair confirms the engineering feasibility of converting shuttle external tanks into orbital tourist stations. He discusses the physiological effects of reduced gravity on the human body and explains why NASA has resisted cheaper alternatives to the International Space Station.