Wide empty Nevada range land with instrumentation vans and a Sandia-style sign reading TONOPAH TEST RANGE

Tonopah Test Range: Area 52 on Letterhead

Sandia’s Tonopah Test Range is a 1957 DOE weapons-test support site. “Area 52” is a nickname; the mission statement is instrumentation and security.

September 23, 2026 · 6 min · 1257 words · Justin