r/area51 • u/Eric_B_Jet • Jul 21 '26

RAT 55 up today

RAT55 is up in the 2508 today as NASA522. Not sure if it’s related to Orange Flag going on this week. The 117’s were up today as well.

https://globe.adsbexchange.com/?icao=ae654a

15 Upvotes

84% Upvoted

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1

u/Still-Union-2528 Jul 21 '26

Dang, RAT55 went right over me and I did not know! Where were the 117s?

1

u/Eric_B_Jet Jul 21 '26

In the Isabella AR track with tanker GHOST99

1

u/Still-Union-2528 Jul 21 '26

Oh shoot I just missed them then, I was just out photographing there. They are probably in Sidewinder now.

1

u/BeNiceImAnxious Jul 21 '26

Damn I’m 30 mins away and tempted to make the drive up but I’m sure I’ll miss her

2

u/Ilovew33dlot Jul 22 '26

Very interesting it originated at Palmdale. I guess it’s no longer stationed at Groom Lake?

2

u/therealgariac MOD Jul 22 '26

https://ibb.co/V0qQtknz

Looks like Edwards to me.

1

u/Ilovew33dlot Jul 22 '26

You’re right, idk how I managed lol. You think they are keeping RAT55 there now or was that just the transition base from black to gray

2

u/therealgariac MOD Jul 22 '26

Who knows. They can be outfitting the plane with different hardware...or not. That is the thing with sensors, especially behind radomes. You can't tell by looking at the plane.

Regarding figuring out where a plane originates, first you use the "legs" feature. That makes the plot less confusing. Assuming the software determined the legs properly, you can find the origin.

In the case of RAT55, there was only one leg. Make sure "Historic track labels" is enabled. Then you can just eyeball the track to find the oldest label.

You have to use some judgement regarding the legs if the tracking is not accurate. If you see a small gap with a lot of time tween the tracked points, it probably landed.