Message posted by Polemodel on September 01, 2010 at 12:18:20 PST:

I have no direct experience with the Helendale range, but can say with some certainty that the things shown being measured are not really "craft". They're just test bodies, used for a variety of measurement-related purposes; measuring &/or calibrating the range itself; measuring the effect of various edge treatments, coatings & materials, and such. Alas, nothing capable of levitation or Mach 5.
At 1:44, there's a shot of a CompuQuest ISAR image of a thing that was called the Pumpkin Seed. When photos of it surfaced, the black project spotters, not to mention the alien hunters, went into overdrive. It used to be visible in Google Earth out behind the Skunk Works bldg. in Palmdale.
And at 2:00, there's a shot of the pit into which the RCS pylon retracts. With the pylon lowered to the bottom of the pit, the test device or model may be mounted to the top of the pylon in fairly safe and discreet conditions. But, the existence of these pits has some folks convinced that the whole RCS range thing is a cover story for immense complex of underground facilities linked by tunnels that are hundreds of miles long.
Me, I think the RCS stuff is cool enough without resorting to aliens or secret Illuminati hideouts.

In Reply to: Video: Inside Helendale posted by Steve Douglass on September 01, 2010 at 6:41:21 PST:

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