On 8 May 2019, TD Barnes, former Area 51 Special Projects and the current Executive Director of the Nevada Aerospace Hall of Fame, joined a long list of distinguished speakers before the Aerospace Physiology Society when he was presented the Smith W. Ames Memorial Lecture at the Aerospace Physiology Society luncheon at the Rio All Suites Hotel, Las Vegas, Nevada. Barnes conducted a presentation depicting the Central Intelligence Agency’s pioneering Aerospace Physiology with its high flight in the U-2, A-12 Mach-3+ surveillance planes followed by the YF-12 Kedlock Project, the M-21/D-21 Mach-3 mothership/drone flights, the Soviet Migs, and other projects declassified by the CIA. For his lecture and prior participation at Area 51, Barnes was presented the 2019 Smith W. Ames Award before a large attendance of Air Force, Navy, and Marine Corps professionals in the science and practice of Aerospace Physiology.

 

Nevada, the Battleborn State, became the nation’s West Coast Line of Defense for the US Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard during World War II. NASA followed with two tracking stations along its High Range flight test corridor across Nevada and its nuclear rocket engine development at NRDS, the Nuclear Rocket Development Station at Jackass Flats. The Atomic Energy Commission established the Nevada Proving Grounds for atomic bomb testing and the Central Intelligence Agency created Area 51 for flight testing its spy planes and other black projects. 

Because so much remains unknown about Nevada’s unique aviation, and aerospace history, NVAHOF, through its student participant program is capturing from those who were there this fragile and elusive history through its oral history investigation, collection, and recordation program. The NVAHOF shares this knowledge and documentation as a public service to agencies, academia, historians, authors, media, and publications. Much of this oral history comes from external sources for which NVAHOF can not vouch for its accuracy.

NVAHOF is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation dependent on private and corporate tax-deductible donations to finance its educational and annual induction of deserving individuals and organizations into the NVAHOF for participation and contributions that advanced aerospace and aviation from within the state of Nevada.