Yucca Airstrip


Yucca Airstrip is a private-use airport located 17 miles north of the central business district of Mercury, in Nye County, Nevada, United States. The airport is located on the Nevada Test Site and is owned by the United [States Department of Energy]. On the sectional chart it is depicted as an unverified airstrip.

History

The airport was the staging area for Shot Badger, a test of the Upshot–Knothole Series of nuclear test shots on April 18, 1953.

Facilities

Yucca Airstrip Airport covers an area of and has two runways, one located on the salt flat and a shorter, more recently constructed asphalt runway just east of the salt flat:
  • Runway 01/19: 4,990 x 75 ft, surface: asphalt
  • Runway 14/32: 9,000 x 200 ft, surface: salt
The asphalt runway was constructed in 2002 as part of an unmanned aerial vehicle test facility.